Scandit acquires MarketLab to enhance retail shelf intelligence capabilities

Scandit, the pioneer in smart data capture, announces the asset acquisition of shelf audit automation technology from MarketLab, a Polish image recognition and AI software company specialising in the retail industry. As part of the transaction, MarketLab's expert team will join Scandit to build and expand the new offering.

MarketLab's expertise in fixed camera solutions complements Scandit's existing ShelfView mobile capture approach to provide a hybrid data capture shelf intelligence solution for retailers. The global retail sector loses approximately $634 billion annually due to problems with on-shelf availability alone, according to research from IHL Group.

Optimal store conditions

The new hybrid solution will enable retailers to gain insights into on-shelf availability

Delivering increased workforce efficiency and automating time-intensive store operations processes, the new hybrid solution will enable retailers to gain insights into on-shelf availability, planogram compliance, pricing issues, and more to maintain optimal store conditions, maximise sales, and reduce lost revenues due to stockouts, particularly in high-SKU volume environments like grocery stores. 

It will also provide AI-enabled notifications to improve store key performance indicators and flag issues in near-real time to store associates and management. 

"The acquisition marks a new milestone in Scandit's evolution as we continue to broaden our smart data capture capabilities for the wider retail industry. Integrating MarketLab's fixed camera-based shelf recognition experience and technology into ShelfView strengthens our ability to empower retailers to enhance their overall store performance, boost store associate efficiency and optimise the monetisation of shelf data with CPG partners," said Samuel Mueller, CEO and Co-Founder of Scandit.

Accurate stock availability

"We are delighted to join forces with Scandit. Combining our complementary technologies, we look forward to delivering additional value, ROI, and insights to grocery retailers globally so they can benefit from increased visibility into their shelves, ensure accurate stock availability, and ultimately enhance the customer experience," said Piotr Wardaszko, CEO of MarketLab.

Leveraging the strengths of mobile capture and fixed cameras offers retailers a complete, scalable, and flexible solution for all store formats, with a seamless path to more efficient and cost-effective shelf management. Mobile capture, via smartphones or handheld computers, is easily deployable using existing devices, adaptable to different store environments and can be scaled quickly. 

The addition of fixed cameras provides continuous high frequency data capture for near-real-time shelf monitoring, while freeing up store associates to devote their time to higher-value tasks, such as customer engagement.

Cost-effective shelf management

The acquisition strengthens Scandit's retail shelf management and analytics solution, ShelfView

The acquisition strengthens Scandit's retail shelf management and analytics solution, ShelfView, which leverages object recognition, augmented reality and other advanced computer vision technology to process images for more intelligent and efficient store operations. 

Thanks to Scandit's AI and machine learning capabilities, ShelfView delivers alert accuracy at 99.7% — crucial for delivering reliable insights quickly in rapidly changing shelf situations. 

With Scandit's large existing retail customer base, including eight out of the top ten US grocers plus MarketLab's existing accounts including Carrefour Poland, Scandit is well positioned to drive further growth and retail innovation.

Providing valuable insights

The acquisition opens new routes to market by providing valuable insights to consumer packaged goods (CPGs) and merchandising agencies to maximise revenues through higher on-shelf availability, accurate pricing, promotions and planogram compliance as agreed with their retail partners. Beyond the retail sector, Scandit sees future potential in fixed camera deployments in other environments, such as warehousing to automate logistics workflows.   

The acquisition of MarketLab signals a new phase of growth for Scandit and advancement as the smart data capture leader. Today's announcement follows Scandit's $150m Series D investment in 2022, which has helped accelerate its R&D, with a focus on AI/ML capabilities, reflected in recent product developments such as ID Validate, ID Bolt, MatrixScan Find and more.