--- title: "Do you need an AI camera for store analytics?" description: "Store analytics does not need a special AI camera: a standard IP camera or USB webcam, placed well, is enough. What to look for and where it goes." url: https://gotrackgo.com/en/cameras-for-store-analytics language: en updated: 2026-10-14 publisher: GOTONOM Yazılım Teknolojileri A.Ş. --- # Do you need an AI camera for store analytics? Devices sold as "AI cameras" run the analysis inside the camera. But the AI can also run on a device in the store or in software, and then a standard IP camera or USB webcam is enough. What decides the result is not the kind of camera but where it goes. ## Short answer **No, it is not required. In store analytics the AI can run in software rather than inside the camera; then a standard IP camera or USB webcam with good enough image quality does the job.** What matters is that the camera sees what is being measured clearly and correctly: the products for a product-level question, the entrance for door counting. An expensive camera in the wrong place measures less than a standard one in the right place. ## AI camera, or standard camera plus software | | AI camera | Standard camera + software | |---|---|---| | Where the AI runs | On a processor inside the camera | On a device in the store (edge) or a server | | Choice of camera | Tied to the maker's models | Standard IP (RTSP, ONVIF) or USB cameras | | Adding a new analysis | As far as the camera supports | With a software update | | If a camera breaks | You need the same model | Any standard camera to the spec | | Where images stay | Depends on the product; ask | If processed on a store device, they never leave the building | ## What really decides it: placement A camera has to be at a distance where it sees what it measures clearly and correctly: not too close and not too far. A camera too far away cannot tell two colours or two models apart; one too close sees only part of the product and the hand. The right spot depends on the product group, the shelf or table layout and the light, and is chosen during setup. - **Ceiling security cameras** are installed to see people moving; they are usually too far from the products to tell what is in a shopper's hand. - **Angle:** the camera should see the products and the hand reaching for them, not the crowd in front of the shelf or the till. - **Light:** a spotlight shining straight into the lens, or reflections from a glass display, spoil the image. - **Staff areas:** pointing the camera only at the shelf and the shopper area is the simplest way to keep staff out of frame. ## What to look for in a camera - **Image quality:** sharp enough to tell the product's colour and model apart. Resolution alone is not enough; focus and light matter too. - **Connection:** RTSP or ONVIF support for IP cameras; a short, solid cable to the store device for USB cameras. - **Field of view:** wide enough to frame the shelf or table being measured, no wider. - **Fixed mounting:** the camera must not drift; a camera whose angle changes changes the measurement. ## Where GoTrack fits GoTrack is computer vision retail analytics software that runs on standard cameras. No special AI camera is needed: the AI runs in GoTrack's software on the store device, with standard IP cameras (RTSP, ONVIF) or USB webcams. We can supply the cameras or you can buy them; we choose their positions together during setup so they see the products clearly. Images are processed on the store device and there is no face recognition. The steps are on the [how it works](https://gotrackgo.com/en/how-it-works) page. ## Questions ### Which cameras does GoTrack use? Do I need an AI camera? No special AI camera is needed: the AI runs in GoTrack's software on the store device. Standard IP cameras (RTSP, ONVIF) or USB webcams with good enough image quality do the job; we can supply them if you prefer. What matters is placement: to see the products clearly and correctly, a camera sits at the right distance from them, not too close and not too far, and we choose the spot together during setup. Ceiling security cameras are usually too far from the products to see what is in a shopper's hand. ### What do we need to start with GoTrack? Cameras and a store device to the specification we set for your project: cameras that see the products clearly (standard IP or USB, supplied by us or bought to the spec), a small device in the store that processes the images, and an internet connection for the panel and reports. Screens are optional. The panel is used from a web browser. ### Are images processed in the store or in the cloud? In the store. Images are analysed on a device in the store and are not sent to the cloud for analysis. Only product events and device health reach the cloud, which is also why recognition and screens keep working without internet. ### Can GoTrack mask staff areas and analyse only the shopping area? There is no pixel-level privacy masking. Analysis is limited to the shelf zones defined for each camera. Today, keeping staff areas out of view means aiming the camera at the shelf and the shopping area. ### What does setting up a store involve? Cameras that see the shelves, a small device in the store that processes the images, the products added in the panel (from photos, or imported from your product pages) and, if you want them, screens paired to the panel. ## Are your current cameras enough? Let us look together. Tell us about your stores and products; we will plan which camera goes where. [Request a demo](https://gotrackgo.com/en/demo) · or write to info@gotonom.com --- GoTrack · by GOTONOM · https://gotrackgo.com/en/ · info@gotonom.com