Re-thinking Retail Execution: How top CPG brands can use AI to their advantage

In the ever-evolving world of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), successful retail execution has become a pivotal factor in maintaining a competitive edge. 

Ensuring that products are correctly placed, promotions are executed flawlessly, and shelves remain stocked can make or break brand visibility, customer engagement, and sales growth. In a dynamic retail market, mastering these elements is no longer optional—it’s a strategic imperative. In summary, REX is a critical process for any CPG, but visibility over REX is equally important.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming how CPG brands manage retail execution, particularly by addressing the significant visibility gaps that currently exist. 

Neurolabs, with its AI-powered platform ZIA, is providing top CPG brands with instant global visibility into their retail execution. This enhanced visibility is crucial in a landscape where much is happening at the retail level, but there’s often a lack of clear insight into execution.

ZIA’s AI technology complements existing tools by allowing brands to monitor and understand their in-store performance in real time, setting the stage for improved performance and competitive success. 

In this blog, we will explore how AI is reshaping retail execution and how brands can harness this technology to boost their in-store performance.

The Complex Nature of Retail Execution

Retail execution refers to implementing and managing in-store strategies to ensure products are displayed, stocked, and promoted effectively. 

This includes shelf placement, inventory management, planogram compliance, pricing, and promotional displays. Effective retail execution ensures that products are accessible, visible, and aligned with brand and retailer standards, ultimately driving sales and enhancing customer experience.

The biggest issue for CPG brands is a lack of visibility, which creates challenges in ensuring that these processes are executed consistently across multiple stores and regions. Any lapses in execution can lead to lost sales, weakened brand visibility, and dissatisfied customers.

Moreover, retail execution isn't a one-off task—it’s ongoing. Product promotions change, competitor strategies evolve, and consumer preferences shift. Relying on traditional methods such as manual store audits and proxy measures of REX implementation is not only time-consuming but often inaccurate. 

These limitations slow down CPG brands' ability to react swiftly to market changes and customer demands. This is where AI-powered solutions, like Neurolabs’ ZIA (Zero Image Annotations), step in. 

AI offers a faster, more accurate, and cost-effective way to tackle the challenges of retail execution.

How AI is Transforming Retail Execution

Artificial Intelligence has optimised how data is collected, analysed, and actioned in retail settings. 

The combination of AI and image recognition technologies has empowered CPG brands to perform real-time audits of in-store conditions, offering actionable insights that drive sales and improve overall store performance. 

In today’s fast-paced retail environment, gaining insights into in-store conditions is crucial. Enhanced insights mean that problems can be addressed before they affect sales, and corrective actions can be taken almost immediately, minimising disruptions to the customer experience. 

This results in better shelf utilisation, increased sales opportunities, and more accurate stock replenishment, all of which contribute to an improved shopping experience for consumers.

Why AI is Essential for Top CPG Brands,

Top CPG brands need more than just reactive solutions—they need AI-powered platforms that proactively drive retail execution excellence. Here are some of the key reasons why AI is essential for brands looking to thrive in today’s retail environment:

1. Increased Efficiency and Reduced Costs

By automating retail audits and data collection, AI drastically reduces the need for manual audits, cutting down on labour costs and minimising the chances of human error. 

With Neurolabs’ ZIA platform, you can conduct in-store auditing visits up to eight times faster with field representatives. This market-leading speed results in lower operational costs and more efficient retail execution across your operations.

2. Enhanced Accuracy and Consistency

Manual audits can be inconsistent, and human error often leads to inaccuracies in data collection. 

AI-powered systems provide more precise, consistent insights, ensuring that product placements, stock levels, and promotional displays are correctly executed across all stores. The ability to collect and analyse data at scale enables brands to maintain uniform execution regardless of store location.

With ZIA, CPGs can achieve over 95% detection accuracy right from day one, with the potential to exceed 98% in specific categories, ensuring precise and reliable monitoring of product placements.

3. Scalability and Flexibility

As CPG brands expand into new markets and retail environments, they need solutions that can scale with them. AI-driven tools are highly scalable, allowing brands to monitor and audit hundreds or even thousands of stores simultaneously. 

Neurolabs’ ZIA differs from competitors by utilising complex synthetic data to train its models. This makes it easier for brands to scale across diverse retail environments without requiring massive datasets or manual image annotations.

Leveraging existing artwork, ZIA allows you to add new SKUs and promotional materials to your catalogue with a time-to-market of just one week for up to 1,000 SKUs, ensuring that products are always up to date on the shelves. 

4. Competitive Edge Through Data-Driven Insights

AI doesn’t just provide data—it helps to generate actionable insights that allow CPG brands to stay ahead of the competition. 

Neurolabs’ In-Store Scene Understanding (ISSU) helps brands gain deeper insights into competitor activities, shelf positioning, and promotional strategies, offering a clear strategic advantage in highly competitive markets.

AI is the Future of Retail Execution,

In the rapidly changing world of CPG retail, leveraging AI for retail execution is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Neurolabs is at the forefront of this transformation, offering top CPG brands the tools they need to streamline operations, reduce costs, and deliver better customer experiences. 

From real-time data collection to predictive analytics and enhanced promotional compliance, AI is reshaping how CPG brands approach retail execution, offering a clear path to improved performance and competitive success.

The future of retail is here, and for CPG brands ready to rethink their approach, AI is the key to unlocking new levels of efficiency and growth. Now is the time to embrace this transformative technology and lead next-generation retail execution.