Aura Vision

Brilliant to see Holland and Barratt taking flight into travel estate ✈ The UK-based health and wellness retailer is eyeing up a move into more airports and train stations across the country following the success of their London Bridge station store. Holland & Barrett property and format director Nick Gerrard told Retail Week in a recent article: “Travel is an early opportunity for us. We’ve got some travel stores that have great cut-through in London – London Bridge has been hugely successful…There’s a lot more travel locations than that we would love to get into if you can get the right offer.” Travel locations see huge traffic and therefore present a huge potential capture rate and level of footfall within the stores. These locations can therefore benefit massively from Aura Vision’s CCTV-based analytics, which is able to measure footfall passing by outside the store to answer; "how many shoppers are we capturing and which types of customers are we missing?" Traffic also varies significantly throughout the day, requiring careful staff management to match demand. Our staff planners solves this age-old conundrum, by helping store managers plan when to allocate staff, to ensure the best customer experience during both busy and quite periods through the week. To stay informed about weekly trends, subscribe to our weekly Retail Index. https://lnkd.in/eT9NpBvU #retailnews #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #Growth #AI #PhysicalRetail

Super news for UK retail. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reflect the trends we've been tracking and sharing weekly through our (free) Retail Index, with British retail sales rising for the third consecutive month in September 📈   Sales in tech stores saw significant growth in September, driven partly by a surge in smartphone purchases, particularly following the launch of the iPhone 16. Footfall spiked by 5.6% in the week after its release, and we've also seen the new Apple Watch and AirPods contributing to increased in-store traffic.   While consumers are clearly concerned about potential tax rises in the upcoming Budget, that has not yet significantly impacted consumer spending overall. However, one area feeling the effects is supermarkets, where sales declined during the period, partly due to households cutting back on luxury food items.   ONS Retail sales report: https://lnkd.in/erFyYNVi To stay informed about weekly trends, subscribe to our weekly Retail Index. https://lnkd.in/eT9NpBvU #retailnews #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #Growth #AI #PhysicalRetail

UK Retail sales are on the rise and AI is set to drive growth in 2025 🚀 Here's how UK retailers are making the most of this positive news Superdrug opens a new store in Bedford, focusing on environmental and social impact 🌍 Jollyes-The Pet People launches its first York store after hitting 100 UK locations last year 🐾 (featured image) ProCook gears up with 10 new stores before year-end 🎄 B&Q debuts its first Local store outside London, reshaping customer convenience 🛠️ The Office of National Statistics reports British retail sales have risen for the third consecutive month in September, reflecting our own Aura Vision Retail Index trends: https://lnkd.in/ekFrakfb 📈 📊 According to Retail Week's 2025 report, optimism is high among industry leaders. Mark Thomson from Zebra Technologies believes AI will see a significant uplift, transforming both customer experience and boosting employee productivity in stores. With tools like Aura Vision, retailers can optimise new store openings, predict customer flows, and tailor product offerings to local needs — ensuring maximum impact from day one. #retailnews #RetailTrends #AIInRetail #StoreOpenings #2025

Wonderful to see the new B&Q Local store in Brighton 👏 It's the first of this concept outside of London, and is not only influencing the design of larger stores but is also processing 3x the average number of click-and-collect orders.   Situated in one of the city’s busiest shopping centres, within a densely populated area, the store benefits from high footfall. Paddy Earnshaw, B&Q's retail, property, and technology director, "These stores are really interesting to walk through because when you’re at a big store, there will be aisles and aisles of timber cladding or plasterboard, but at these densities, you have to be much more thoughtful.”   To meet customer expectations for a fast and convenient shopping experience, B&Q Local stores are grouping related product categories together. Unlike larger stores, where items and accessories may be far apart, these smaller locations bring everything together. This approach is prompting B&Q to consider which elements could also be applied in larger stores.   Constantly evaluating store layouts and learning from successes is something our customers greatly value. Striking the right balance between maintaining familiarity and introducing new, improved designs is key. Customers come in with set expectations and ingrained behaviours, so it's essential to guide them through any changes! #retailnews #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #Growth #AI #PhysicalRetail

Congratulations to ProCook on their recent unveiling of plans to open 10 new stores before the end of the financial year! The future is looking certainly looking hot for this UK-based cookware brand 🔥 With four stores opened in the first half and the remaining six set to open before the crucial Christmas period, ProCook have seen an incredible 8.8% year-on-year rise in revenue/ As new stores open, eyes will be on retail director Andy Kerr to ensure each store fulfils its potential. In the runup to Christmas, it's now more important than ever to measure in-store metrics to benchmark store success and identify opportunities. Aura Vision’s bespoke AI platform transforms in-store customer behaviour into critical insights for retailers, by converting existing CCTV footage into anonymised demographic data. We already analyse video feeds from over 2,500 cameras across 600 UK locations, delivering real-time insights on customer demographics like age and gender, while accurately distinguishing staff from customers. To stay informed about weekly trends, subscribe to our weekly Retail Index. https://lnkd.in/eT9NpBvU #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #Growth #AI #PhysicalRetail

🎃 Halloween is coming, but are your store windows ready? 🛍️ 📉 Stores captured 6.8% fewer shoppers last week, despite stable passer-by traffic. - Footfall dropped a total of 7.6%, though customers engaged more with products once inside. - With Halloween and half-term approaching, retailers should focus on boosting capture rates with standout window displays and targeted campaigns. 📊 Sales dip reflects last year, but traffic remains 3.2% higher than 2023. This is the quiet before the storm – perfect time to get ahead before holiday boosts. 🏙 North East was the only region to maintain sales, with other areas seeing a 4-6% drop. Prioritize regions like Wales, South East, and East Midlands. 👨👩👧👦 Target older families (35-55+) for Halloween shopping as younger shoppers decline. #retailnews #RetailInsights #FootfallTrends #Halloween

We're very proud to be supporting Gymshark in measuring their audience and product engagement at their next pop-up location 🤫

👏 amazing to see Burberry celebrating their flagship store relaunch, all while looking absolutely stunning.

EE is “definitely not dialling down when it comes to shopping space”, says MD Sharon Meadows in Retail Week and Zebra Technologies Retail 2025 report. Indeed, EE is rolling out 'Experience’ stores across the UK, designed to give shoppers hands-on access to the latest tech. These immersive spaces provide face-to-face advice and guidance, allowing customers to explore various products.   "Our ambition is to be the most personal, customer-focused brand in the UK," said Asif Aziz OBE, EE's retail director earlier this year.   Experience stores, also known as concept or interactive retail spaces, differ from traditional stores in that they focus on creating immersive customer experiences, rather than just selling products.   Our AI-driven platform, which transforms CCTV footage into anonymised demographic data, is used in plenty of these sorts of stores, and it’s fascinating to see how visitors engage. For our customers, it’s all about understanding how these spaces can build a sense of community. Building customer relationships takes centre stage, and understanding the interactions between staff and customers is essential — something our platform can clearly differentiate.   Virgin Media O2 use our platform to track customer footfall, dwell times, queue lengths, and product engagement across 300+ stores. This data has been instrumental in shaping a strategy that delivers exceptional in-store experiences for both customers and staff. #retailnews #retailinnovation #experiential #retailai

In what other type of store do you lie down multiple times? In the US, we help Purple track exactly how many customers sit or lie down on each mattress – even capturing how many bounces or rolls! Thanks to our AI-driven insights, Purple’s product team has clear visibility into which mattresses attract the most attention and dwell time, as well as which display units see the most engagement (along with precise customer counts). After reading Nick C.’s recent comments about Bensons for Beds opening 15 new stores in under a month, it certainly made us ‘wake up’ and take note! There’s a wealth of valuable customer insight to be gained in those new stores, especially with our AI platform that transforms CCTV footage into anonymised demographic data. To find out more about our work with Purple (which generates 5x ROI), take a look at the case study here: https://lnkd.in/dcaAkinw https://lnkd.in/dmzCxxWi #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #matresses