{"id":607803,"date":"2024-02-08T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T07:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/"},"modified":"2024-02-08T10:00:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T07:00:37","slug":"how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"#How supermarkets are using AI to predict sales"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29062210533\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29062210533\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/#Trim_your_food_waste\" >Trim your (food) waste<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/#Data_data_and_more_data\" >Data, data, and more data<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/#Do_you_smell_gas\" >Do you smell gas?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/#Replacing_the_use-by_date\" >Replacing the use-by date<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/#Demand_prediction\" >Demand prediction<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\/#Harvest_fare\" >Harvest fare<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F02%2FDALL%C2%B7E-2024-02-06-17.10.21-An-image-showcasing-how-supermarkets-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-fight-food-waste.-The-scene-is-set-inside-a-supermarket-with-various-section-e1707235872281.jpeg&amp;signature=5b941edf542d532052a34f9812ba7f4b\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A supermarket deep in rural Germany had a problem. Far from the ample workforce of the nearest city, the shop was staffed largely by local teenagers still at school. The kids were motivated but inexperienced, says Avik Mukhija, co-founder of retail tech startup Freshflow. He declines to reveal the shop\u2019s exact location.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When ordering fresh produce each day, the adolescent employees tended to over-stock for fear of running out of fruit and veg. That led to unnecessary waste as some unsold produce inevitably went bad in store.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But then the shop\u2019s managers turned to a machine learning system from Freshflow that can make predictions about how much fresh food customers will buy in the coming days \u2014 and suggest what stock to bring in, accordingly. With this tool at hand, the amount of produce wasted at the supermarket dropped sharply, by nearly 30%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThose are the best waste reduction rates we\u2019ve achieved so far,\u201d says Mukhija. Freshflow currently employs 15 people and has raised \u20ac3 million. The company\u2019s software is live at multiple shops owned by two regional grocery chains in Germany, and pilot deployments in France are also underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trim_your_food_waste\"><\/span><b>Trim your (food) waste<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">TNW Conference 2024 &#8211; 2 for 1 Flash Sale<\/p>\n<p>Get two tickets for the price of one. Offer Ends on Monday 12 February<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fresh produce managers in supermarkets and small local shops have long had to decide for themselves how many <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>les, strawberries or potatoes they need to order, simply to keep up with demand. But demand is constantly in flux. In-store promotions, public holidays, the condition of stock already on shelves, and the weather \u2014 all these things can shape sales. The person ordering fresh stock needs to get their numbers right, every day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the EU, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ec-europa-eu.libguides.com\/food-waste\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">around 60 million tonnes of food waste<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 with a market value in excess of \u20ac1 billion \u2014 is generated every year. The vast majority of the waste comes from households, with retailers such as supermarkets make up a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eurostat\/statistics-explained\/index.php?title=Food_waste_and_food_waste_prevention_-_estimates\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">relatively small chunk of the pie<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. However, retailers are still expected to reduce their contribution to the food waste problem, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freshplaza.com\/europe\/article\/9560596\/europe-proposes-reducing-household-and-retail-food-waste-by-30\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to the European Commission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new fleet of startups claims there is a better way to manage the flow of fruit, veg, meat, and fish into and out of stores \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> that can both reduce waste and boost profits. These firms argue that artificial intelligence (AI) and fine-grained data about the shelf-life of stock could shake up the food retail industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Data_data_and_more_data\"><\/span>Data, data, and more data<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOn average, we can reduce waste by 20-25% and we can increase revenues up to 3%,\u201d says Mukhija. Freshflow also tracks how often product managers follow the recommendations made by its software \u2013 close to 90% of the time, at present, according to Mukhija.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The system soaks up any data that Freshflow can get its hands on. Not just the weather but also near-real-time sales numbers, or how certain promotions, such as buy-one-get-one-free offers, have performed in the past. The software can compare stores\u2019 performance, in terms of wastage, and also highlight which products are selling best at any one time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mukhija claims that they did not design Freshflow to take over the human role of fresh produce manager. \u201cThis is something that we feel very strongly about,\u201d he says. \u201cWe will never replace the fresh produce manager. We will only enhance their abilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a job that requires \u201cart\u201d, he adds \u2014 more than he and co-founder Carmine Paolino realised when they originally launched their company. The fresh produce manager often comes up with novel ways of displaying or promoting the fruit and veg on sale, for instance, in an effort to appeal to their local customer base. That varies from store to store and Freshflow\u2019s software isn\u2019t designed to take over that role \u2014 it\u2019s just meant to make decision-making around ordering produce easier, since there are so many different factors to consider.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_you_smell_gas\"><\/span><b>Do you smell gas?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other startups are focusing on how to track the freshness of food automatically. \u201cWe invented a gas-sensing technology,\u201d says Max Grell, co-founder and chief executive of BlakBear, a London-based firm with 11 employees that has raised \u00a32.3 million in funding, not including undisclosed grants and additional private funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grell explains that BlakBear\u2019s tiny sensors, which he says will cost mere pennies to manufacture at scale, sit inside packaged food \u2014 think packets of fresh fish or meat, key sources of protein. The sensors detect subtle changes in the atmosphere within those sealed packets as the products age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grell declines to specify exactly what gases the sensor detects beyond saying that it includes ammonia, volatile organic compounds, and carbon dioxide. If the sensors detect an uptick in gases indicative of spoilage, they can communicate the possible deterioration of the product via wireless RFID or Bluetooth communications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019ve spent a long time working on protein because protein\u2019s super expensive,\u201d says Grell. \u201cIt can make people sick. It smells really nasty when it\u2019s bad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, BlakBear is working with two major retailers in the UK, says Grell, though he declines to name them. The firm is also deploying its technology in the US. By 2025, Grell aims to have \u201cmillions\u201d of sensors out there in packets moving across food supply chains.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Replacing_the_use-by_date\"><\/span>Replacing the use-by date<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For now, the sensors are going into a sample of packets rather than every single one, as a way for retailers to keep an eye on the overall quality of consignments. But Grell says his firm\u2019s ultimate goal is much bigger: \u201cThe vision for us is we replace the use-by date.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That would mean every packet of fresh fish or meat, for example, coming loaded with a sensor able to confirm to the customer \u2014 via a quick scan with a smartphone app \u2014 that the product is fresh. Such a system could also provide a packet-specific estimate of how many days are left before it spoils.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grell says that not having to bin items just because they have passed their use-by date, when they might actually be perfectly edible, could greatly improve how retailers manage their stock and help them curtail waste. \u201cIf you can add a day of life to your product [\u2026], you cut the waste by a quarter \u2014 it\u2019s massive,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s a huge change that\u2019s emerging,\u201d says Patrick Brandtner, of the University of Applied <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a>s Upper Austria, referring to the rise of high tech tools targeting demand forecasting in food retail. Covid-19, inflation, and the dominance of giants such as Amazon are all reasons why many retailers currently feel they must up their <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>, he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Demand_prediction\"><\/span><b>Demand prediction<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brandtner and colleagues have <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1877050922003076\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">experimented with their own predictive analytics technologies for retail<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including in the fresh produce space. Brandtner mentions that he has worked with large supermarket chain Aldi, for example. The data he and his fellow researchers gathered in recent years revealed huge shifts in purchasing behaviour during Covid-19 lockdowns. That is to be expected but he points out that such information could be used to predict consumer activity in the future if a new, similarly disruptive, epidemic or pandemic emerges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brandtner praises Freshflow and BlakBear for their efforts at more accurately predicting real demand and tracking food freshness, respectively. However, he notes that users should treat AI tools with caution. Demand forecasting systems might get their predictions right much of the time but if they fail in situations where footfall or customer behaviour just happens to diverge from the norm, then their benefits could be limited.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOnce implemented, it does not mean that it will always run smoothly, it has to constantly be monitored,\u201d says Brandtner.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Harvest_fare\"><\/span><b>Harvest fare<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Machine learning tools aren\u2019t just influencing what retailers decide to buy in, they\u2019re also in the hands of suppliers. Mihai Ciobanu is founder and director of Fresh4cast, which currently has a staff of two people. The firm has raised \u00a3800,000 so far.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fresh4cast is active in Europe and the US and Ciobanu says suppliers moving 350,000 tonnes of food annually are using its technology. This ranges from fresh blackberries to prepared soups and salads. The Fresh4cast system allows users to experiment with \u201cwhat ifs\u201d, says Ciobanu. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A supplier might use the system to simulate what would happen if they bring a retail promotion forward in time, for instance. The supplier might then suggest this approach to their customer, the retailer themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some data that could influence sales, such as the weather forecast, the software sucks up automatically, whereas information about the sudden failure of a crop, the software user might consider on the fly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To take an example, say there\u2019s a smaller-than-expected harvest of raspberries. The supplier might use Fresh4cast to estimate how much more effective it would be to sell the available raspberries in smaller punnets for the remaining months of the season, thereby reaching a higher number of individual customers despite having less fruit on hand than they thought they would.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThese decisions have to be taken so fast in fresh produce that, without a good, robust model, everyone would have to rely a lot on their hunches,\u201d says Ciobanu.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While retailers ultimately decide how much to buy and how to promote it, suppliers can influence that decision-making. There\u2019s a good reason, too, as Ciobanu puts it: \u201cEveryone stands to win if you get it right.\u201d<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/how-supermarkets-are-using-ai-to-predict-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A supermarket deep in rural Germany had a problem. Far from the ample workforce of the nearest city, the shop was staffed largely by local teenagers still at school. The kids were motivated but inexperienced, says Avik Mukhija, co-founder of retail tech startup Freshflow. He declines to reveal the shop\u2019s exact location. When ordering fresh&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":607804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/02\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-02-06-17.10.21-An-image-showcasing-how-supermarkets-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-fight-food-waste.-The-scene-is-set-inside-a-supermarket-with-various-section-e1707235872281.jpeg&signature=48ffef99735a92831de770fa89af07ba","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-607803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}