Safe and anonymous AI analytics for increased sales
The Sundsvall-based AI company Indivd, founded in 2018, offers innovative AI technology that helps physical stores collect and analyze customer data in an anonymous and GDPR-secure way. With a new multi-million investment, Indivd aims to expand globally and make physical stores as data-driven as e-commerce.
E-commerce insights for physical stores
When you shop online, you leave digital footprints that can be analyzed to improve the customer experience. In physical stores, this has been a challenge. Indivd wants to change this by using artificial intelligence and strict anonymization.
Indivd's patented solution is based on computer vision and differs from its competitors in that all collected data is anonymized directly and can never be recreated. This makes it possible to analyze visitor patterns without storing sensitive personal data.
How does the technology work?
Indivd's software-based solution can be connected to existing surveillance cameras in stores. The cloud-based platform then analyzes data that shows:
- How many people visit the store
- How long do customers stay
- How they move through the store
ICA.
ICA: AI is crucial for the future of retail
The ICA report Intelligent Stores of the Future states that AI can play a crucial role in understanding customer needs. An insight that Indivd welcomes.
- Many physical stores want to be able to get the same detailed information that e-commerce offers. We are trying to emulate these analytical tools in physical environments," says Victor Molén, CEO and co-founder of Indivd.
Seven years of development and global expansion
Indivd has been developing its platform for seven years before its commercial launch. Today, the company has 12 employees and over 40 paying customers in Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia. In Sweden, companies such as Porsche, Svensk Tenn and Chimi use Indivd's technology.
To scale up the business, Indivd recently raised 14 million SEK from investors such as Martin Roos (former head of Ericsson), Per Setterberg (EQT) and Amelia Barnekow Söderberg (former CEO of Filippa K).
"We have reached a technical level that allows us to focus on sales and meeting market needs. We get new customers every week, says Victor Molén.
Digitalization and the store of the future
According to Johan Hagberg, professor of business administration at the Gothenburg School of Economics, the gap between digital commerce and physical stores is narrowing:
<"E-commerce has expanded greatly, but 96 percent of grocery shopping still takes place in stores. We see more e-retailers, like Lyko, opening physical stores. Integration between online and physical retail is the future.
New customer Porsche - from coffee cups to AI
Din Bil, dealer for Porsche, is now using Indivd's technology in their concept store Porsche Now in Nacka. Previously, they counted coffee cups to measure visitor flow.
- We are coming from a zero situation when it comes to people counting. Now we hope to get reliable data that will help us improve operations and adjust staffing," says Victor Dahl, brand manager for Porsche at Din Bil.
Physical stores have a future
Despite the threat of store death, Victor Molén believes that physical stores are here to stay:
- The pandemic taught us that people still want to shop in stores. Today, almost all sales have returned to physical retailers.
With Indivd's AI solution, stores gain powerful tools to understand and improve the customer experience, making them ready to face the future of commerce.
