---
title: "Product interaction analytics vs shelf recognition | GoTrack"
description: "Shelf image recognition checks stock, planograms and share of shelf. Product interaction analytics measures what shoppers do with products."
url: https://gotrackgo.com/en/product-interaction-vs-shelf-recognition
language: en
updated: 2026-11-08
publisher: GOTONOM Yazılım Teknolojileri A.Ş.
---

# Product interaction analytics vs shelf image recognition

Both use images of the shelf, and they answer different questions: one checks the shelf, the other watches what shoppers do with it.

**Shelf image recognition** audits the shelf itself: out-of-stocks, planogram compliance, prices and share of shelf. **Product interaction analytics**, which is what GoTrack does, measures what shoppers do with the products: pickups, hold time, put-backs and products compared. **GoTrack does not check stock levels, planogram compliance or prices.**

## Side by side

| Question | Shelf image recognition | GoTrack |
|---|---|---|
| Is the product on the shelf? | Yes | No: GoTrack does not report stock |
| Does the shelf match the planogram? | Yes | No |
| Which products do shoppers pick up? | Not its purpose | Yes, per product and colour |
| How long is a product held? | Not its purpose | Yes |
| Which products are put back or never touched? | Not its purpose | Yes |
| Can a screen react to the product in hand? | No | Yes |

## Which one do you need?

- **Stock, planogram and price compliance:** a shelf-recognition tool.
- **Interest, placement, colour and screen content decisions:** product interaction analytics.
- **Both:** they answer different questions and can run side by side; GoTrack's exports and webhooks join its data with other systems.

## Questions

### Can GoTrack tell marketing which products are examined, and for how long?

Yes. It reports pickups per product and variant, average hold time, put-back rate, products compared together and never-touched products. It measures how long a product is held, not how long someone stands in front of it.

### 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.

### 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.

### Do we need screens to use GoTrack?

No. GoTrack's product analytics works with cameras alone. Screens are optional: add them when you want the shelf to react to the product in hand.

## Further reading

- [Never-touched products: find them and act](https://gotrackgo.com/en/never-touched-products): Products that sit on the shelf and draw almost no pickups: how to find them per store and colour, the usual reasons, what to try first.
- [Products compared together: cross-merchandising](https://gotrackgo.com/en/products-compared-together): Which products do shoppers weigh against each other? How pairs picked up one after the other inform placement, pairings and screen content.
- [In-store camera analytics: 10 privacy questions](https://gotrackgo.com/en/camera-analytics-privacy-checklist): Ten questions to ask any in-store camera analytics vendor before you install: where images are processed, what is kept, what reaches the cloud.
- [Choosing in-store analytics: buyer's checklist](https://gotrackgo.com/en/choosing-in-store-analytics): People counting, heatmaps, shelf recognition or product interaction? What each answers, what to ask any vendor, and how to design a pilot.

## See product interaction analytics on your shelves.

We will show you what GoTrack measures on products like yours.

[Request a demo](https://gotrackgo.com/en/demo) · or write to info@gotonom.com

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GoTrack · by GOTONOM · https://gotrackgo.com/en/ · info@gotonom.com