Working with the security arrangements already in place in a store, Genetec Inc’s new Retail Intelligence system provides owners with real-time, actionable data to help improve overall customer experiences. From analyzing the direction of traffic flow to heat mapping and alerting staff to long lines, the system provides insights from data that is already easily available.

Available on a subscription basis, Genetec is currently offering retailers a free trial of the system in one store. The final version will be publicly available towards the end of 2017. Genetec believes that marketing and merchandising managers will also be able to use the newly available intelligence to make more tailored buys and displays, helping provide an all-around improved, more efficient and responsive in-store experience.

Other recent innovations in retail that are helping create more responsive experiences for customers include the Canadian rewards program that uses VR to allow customers to see and hear how they could use their prizes. And in the United States, a yogurt company is now offering mobile coupons accessed via a television ad. In what other ways could shopping be made more enjoyable?