Empty shelves cost sales, but walking every aisle every hour is not realistic. Cameras or periodic photos of the shelves that matter most can flag gaps for staff to fix, while protecting shopper privacy. These four steps start with a few key shelves and keep staff confirming every alert.
Step 1 — Choose the shelves
Goal: Monitor where gaps cost the most.
- List fast-selling and high-value products where gaps hurt sales.
- Pick a small set of shelves to start.
- Agree what counts as a gap or low stock for each shelf.
- Name who receives and acts on alerts in each store.
You finish with: A short list of monitored shelves with definitions and owners.
Step 2 — Capture usable images
Goal: Get clear shelf images while protecting privacy.
- Check whether existing cameras see the shelves clearly.
- Add fixed cameras or scheduled staff photos where needed.
- Crop or blur images so shoppers are not identified.
- Set how long images are kept and who can see them.
You finish with: Privacy-protected images of each monitored shelf.
Step 3 — Alert and confirm
Goal: Turn detections into restocking.
- Flag likely gaps and low facings on each shelf.
- Send staff a short list with a photo of each gap.
- Have staff restock or mark the alert as wrong.
- Use the wrong alerts to improve detection.
You finish with: Confirmed alerts and restocked shelves.
Step 4 — Measure and expand
Goal: Show faster restocking, then add shelves.
- Track time from gap to restock.
- Track the share of alerts confirmed.
- Track staff time on manual checks.
- Add shelves or stores once the first set works.
You finish with: Measured results and an expansion plan.
Common pitfalls
- Monitoring every shelf before a few work well.
- Images that identify shoppers or are kept too long.
- Restocking or ordering from unconfirmed alerts.
- Cameras that cannot see the whole shelf.