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Image Recognition shelf

In today’s technology-driven world, the shelf image recognition market is gaining significant momentum, transforming various industries. According to Allied Market Research, the global image recognition market was valued at $28.3 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $126.8 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 16.5% from 2023 to 2032.

The growing demand for automation is a major driver of this market expansion, as FMCG businesses seek to enhance productivity and efficiency, making automation a core strategic priority. Additionally, advancements in machine learning and computer vision continue to play a crucial role in shaping the industry’s evolution.

Evolution of Shelf Image Recognition

The development of shelf recognition technology began in 2015, following the Gartner Hype Cycle for Computer Vision. Initially, the technology trigger phase sparked high expectations, with many believing image recognition would solve all challenges. By 2017, enthusiasm and investments surged, anticipating flawless solutions.

At the time, recognition accuracy and processing speed were key priorities, expected to optimize operations. However, by 2021, industry challenges led to a trough of disillusionment, prompting adjustments. The focus shifted beyond identification to real-time analytics and finding even more effective methods of technology adoption.

By 2023, shelf image recognition neared the plateau of productivity. It started to not only support field teams but also provide valuable insights, becoming a key data source for a variety of business functions. Even more, with technologies like Augmented Reality, the process of scanning shelves has become as fast as ever before.

Manual Shelf Image Recognition

FMCG companies have been relying on manual image recognition shelf as the primary method for auditing retail shelves for decades. This process involves employees manually examining shelves to verify product placement against planograms, confirm product availability, check assortment, and ensure compliance with merchandising standards.

However, this approach is inherently time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. It is also prone to human error, subjective assessments, and incomplete analysis, making it difficult to maintain high-quality retail audit data. By adding subjective factors, FMCG businesses no longer rely on rationality and numbers, which could significantly impact the business.

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Rethinking Digital Transformation in FMCG: Why Integration, Not Just Tools, Drives Sales Success

When we talk about digital transformation in the FMCG sector, it’s easy to assume the end result will be a seamless, efficient, and user-friendly system of workflows that naturally enhances business performance. In reality, however, that’s often far from what companies actually experience.

Instead of achieving alignment and efficiency, many FMCG sales teams find themselves navigating a patchwork of disconnected tools and platforms. These systems may handle routine tasks well enough, but they fail to support strategic decision-making or agile execution. The result? A busy team working in silos, with no one seeing the complete picture — while the sales cycle keeps moving forward regardless.

Sales promotion activities in FMCG companies are particularly vulnerable to this fragmentation. Campaigns are managed in isolation, field data trickles in late or incomplete, and critical insights are often buried across disparate systems. Everyone is working hard, but the FMCG sales strategy suffers because there’s no unified source of truth or real-time visibility.

This lack of cohesion doesn’t just slow down operations — it undermines growth. Without connected data, synchronized planning, and seamless feedback loops between trade marketing and field execution, it becomes nearly impossible to optimize promotional investments, align cross-functional teams, or scale high-performing initiatives. A successful FMCG sales strategy isn’t about having more tools — it’s about how intelligently those tools work together.

What’s at Stake Without a Connected Ecosystem

According to McKinsey, companies using fragmented sales and trade systems report up to 20–30% lower ROI on promotions compared to those operating within an integrated platform. The issue isn’t usually poor execution — it’s a broken system that prevents fast learning and adjustment. Sales planning in FMCG becomes detached from in-store performance, and valuable insights never reach the teams who need them most.

Further highlighting the problem, PwC reports that 70% of FMCG leaders struggle to make timely commercial decisions because their data is scattered across too many systems. Sales teams are left waiting for outdated reports. Trade marketers make plans based on yesterday’s insights. And changes that should take hours — essential for a responsive FMCG sales strategy — can end up taking weeks

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AI-Powered Precision for Smarter Retail Audits in FMCG

At the heart of efficient retail execution lies intelligent recognition — and that’s exactly what our IR FMCG solution delivers. Built on the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Vision, and Neural Networks, it’s more than just innovative software. It’s a deeply integrated, high-performance system that works behind the scenes to transform raw field data into clear, actionable insights.

In the fast-paced world of consumer goods, poor data quality can be costly. In fact, up to 60% of photos taken by field teams are unsuitable for recognition, leading to wasted time, inflated expenses, and missed opportunities — particularly when audits are billed per image. Our IR FMCG platform uses AI and Machine Learning to pre-screen and validate images before processing begins, ensuring only high-quality data drives your decisions.

Once verified, AI algorithms instantly analyze and interpret image data, delivering real-time reports and smart, prioritized action steps to your team. The result is faster, more reliable audits and optimized in-store execution that saves both time and money.

With IR FMCG, you're not just adopting a tool — you're upgrading to a future-ready system that brings intelligence, accuracy, and efficiency to every level of retail audit performance.