What is store analytics? Five data sources
Store analytics turns what happens in a physical store into data. The five data sources, the question each one answers, and where to start.
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- Buyer's checklist
How to choose in-store analytics: a buyer's checklist
People counters, heatmaps, shelf recognition, product interaction: the category covers very different systems. What each one answers, the questions that separate vendors, and how to set up a fair pilot.
Start with the question
Decide first what you need to know: how many people came in, where they walked, what is on the shelf, or what shoppers did with the products. Each is a different kind of system. Most disappointments come from buying one while needing another.
Four kinds of in-store analytics
| Type | Answers | Does not answer |
|---|---|---|
| People counting | How many visitors came in, and when | What they did with the products |
| Heatmaps and paths | Where people walked and stopped | Which product they picked up |
| Shelf recognition | What is on the shelf: stock, planogram, share of shelf | What shoppers did with the products |
| Product interaction (GoTrack) | Which products are picked up, held, put back and compared | Whether a sale followed, unless joined with your sales data |
10 questions to ask any vendor
- Can you show it on products like ours? A demo on the vendor's own showcase says little about your racks, your lighting and your near-identical colours.
- What do you publish about speed or accuracy, and how was it measured? A number without a date, a setup and its limits cannot be checked. Ours are in the lab notes.
- What happens with near-identical products? Ask whether the system guesses or says it cannot tell. GoTrack shows near-identical products as a pair instead of guessing.
- Does it work with our cameras? Ask which camera types are supported, what view of the shelf is needed, and who decides where an extra camera goes.
- What has to be fitted to each product? Tags, pads and sensors add work every time the range changes.
- What happens when the internet drops? Ask whether recognition, screens and recording carry on, and whether events are sent later with their real times.
- How do we get our data out? Exports, webhooks and their formats, and whether a ready-made connector to your systems exists or not.
- How are privacy questions answered? In writing, point by point: see the 10 privacy questions.
- How are store devices updated and watched? Remote updates, rollback if an update fails, and alerts when a store device or camera stops working.
- What does a pilot look like? Its scope, its length and the questions it must answer, agreed before it starts.
Designing a fair pilot
- One question. For example: which colours of a model are picked up and put back most.
- One or two fixtures that the cameras see clearly.
- A fixed period, with a before-and-after if you plan to change something.
- Agreed outputs: the reports and exports you will judge it on.
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.
Can GoTrack send data to our ERP, loyalty or BI system?
Yes, through webhooks and exports. Each product interaction can be sent to your endpoint as a webhook signed with HMAC-SHA256, and every report can be exported as CSV or PDF. There is no ready-made ERP, POS, loyalty or CRM connector.
What happens if the store's internet goes down?
Recognition, screens and event recording carry on in the store. Screens play their stored content, and events wait on the device and are sent with their real times when the connection returns. In our test on 4 September 2026, every showing during a 7-minute outage reached the screen and its record reached the cloud afterwards.
How are store devices updated?
Remotely. New versions reach store devices without a site visit, are applied at a quiet moment, and roll back on their own if the new version does not work.
Further reading
Put GoTrack through the checklist.
Ask us every question on this page; we answer in writing.
or write to info@gotonom.com