Retail
Research finds shelf intelligence emerging as retail’s strategic priority
October 22, 2025
Research from IHL Group, conducted with Scandit, shows that shelf intelligence technologies are becoming a top investment priority for retailers aiming to improve inventory accuracy, profitability and customer satisfaction, according to a press release on the findings.
The study, which surveyed more than 400 retailers across grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse, drug and convenience segments in the U.S. and EMEA, found that inventory visibility now ranks second only to customer personalization as a technology investment priority. Retailers with profit growth above 10 percent are investing more than twice as much in inventory visibility solutions as those with lower profits.
"While digital transformation has dominated the retail industry for the last decade, inventory accuracy and shelf availability continue to erode profitability," Greg Buzek, president and chief AI officer at IHL Group, said in the release. "Our new research demonstrates that shelf intelligence technology has matured to a competitive necessity, and retailers who have embraced this shift are breaking away from the pack."
The report found that retailers using hybrid data capture methods, such as autonomous robots, fixed cameras and mobile devices are 64 percent more likely to be early adopters and 136 percent more likely to maintain profitability leadership.
"Grocers and other retailers are no longer asking whether shelf intelligence works — they're asking how fast they can scale it," Scandit CTO and co-founder Christian Floerkemeier said in the release.
AI spending by retailers is projected to increase 29 percent from 2025 to 2026 as adoption accelerates.
