Hershey Taps AR and Image Recognition for Intelligent Merchandising
Augmented reality and image recognition go together like peanut butter and caramel.
Coinciding with the launch of Reese’s Caramel Big Cup, launched in November, The Hershey Company is tapping technology in order to help retailers make data-driven decisions that better positions merchandise to drive an increase in sales. In a recent blog post, Andy Hunt, Hershey manager of applied digital innovation, shared details about the tech-powered initiative.
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The two technologies, said Hunt, were designed and built to drive decisions, track performance, collect actionable data, and boost sales.
Augmented reality, specifically, will help Hershey’s retail territory sales lead (TSL) with merchandising decisions, such as determining where the product should be located on the floor. To better visualize the merchandise, TSLs can use AR to generate an image on their tablet that showcases what the product would look like in a specific store location.
Image recognition then tracks that particular piece of merchandise and its in-store location to gather insights and inform associates on how placement is having an impact on sales traffic.
“These breakthrough technologies will provide unprecedented insights we can learn from and share with our retail partners. The augmented reality adds engaging visualization, showcasing how merchandising is meant to look and be placed,” said Hunt. “The image recognition helps everyone involved understand where and why Reese’s Caramel products are selling.”
Hershey is already receiving feedback from store staff, with a TSL from Florida sharing that the AR tool is helping him presell locations and gain buy-in from stores to maintain the displays.
Hunt sees this being applied beyond Hershey’s items, helping to not only boost sales, but decrease human error and free up TSL time so they can focus on other store priorities.
“These innovations will continue to be a part of our TSL toolbox moving forward for other Hershey products too,” said Hunt.
The company is also looking into leveraging image recognition data within its targeted media strategy, helping consumers to find new products.
“We like to talk about how the combination in Reese’s Caramel is better than the sum of its parts, just like how these technologies are transformational when used together.” said Hunt. “By rolling them all into the same campaign, we hope to reach more people and be a part of more moments of goodness, as consumers discover the best taste since chocolate met peanut butter.”
