From Ground Truth to Growth

How real-time shelf intelligence becomes a retail growth engine

Retailers have never had more tools or more complexity. Most have modernized the top and back of the funnel: e-commerce systems, personalization engines, ERP and supply chain platforms, pricing tools, and POS modernization.

But there’s one layer where many still struggle to connect strategy with reality: the shelf.

And that’s a problem—because the shelf is where execution happens. It’s where the shopper experience lives. And it’s where margin is won or lost.

The Shelf Is No Longer Static… It’s Strategic

The shelf reflects the state of the business in real time:

• What’s in stock and what’s not
• Where pricing, promotions, or planograms aren’t aligned
• What’s ready for fulfillment and where there’s risk of a needed substitution

It’s not just operational hygiene; it’s the foundation for omnichannel accuracy, team coordination, and shopper trust. And increasingly, it’s becoming the connective tissue between store operations, supply chain, e-commerce, and finance.

What’s Changing Now

According to The State of In-Store Retailing 2025:

• 90% of retailers who invested in store intelligence last year met or exceeded ROI targets.
• Investment is up 151% YoY.
• Leaders are moving beyond pilots and into platform strategy.

Retailers aren’t experimenting for experimentation’s sake. They’re modernizing how their businesses actually run—starting with the shelf

Simbe POV: Orchestration Starts with Ground Truth

At Simbe, we believe inventory data will soon be as foundational as POS data. Our Store Intelligence™ platform delivers full-shelf visibility across availability, pricing, and product location—and connects that data across the business.

That means:

• 📦 Better fulfillment with fewer substitutions and faster picks
• 🔁 Smarter replenishment that prevents out-of-stocks before they happen
• 🎯 Stronger merchandising through validated promotions and planograms
• 🧠 Labor reallocation from manual checks to high-value service

Unlike traditional tools, Simbe’s system is:

• Multimodal: Robotics, RFID, fixed sensors, and computer vision
• Retail-native: Built for the realities of dynamic store environments
• Scalable: Live across continents and formats
• Adopted: Designed to support (not disrupt) store teams

The Path Forward: Scale, Not Just Success

Too many technologies work in one store, under one set of conditions, but can they scale across formats, markets, and teams?

That’s the standard Simbe was built for:

• Every store is a node in a real-time intelligence network.
• Every scan is a signal.
• Every signal powers coordinated action.

This isn’t just about visibility. It’s about turning ground truth into growth.

The Bottom Line

As retailers face higher expectations and tighter margins, they don’t just need innovation. They need infrastructure.A foundation of real-time, trusted shelf data that fuels execution everywhere.

Because when you can see what’s happening—across every store, every hour—you can act faster, plan smarter, and lead with confidence.

Missed the series?

Blog 1: What Retail’s Best-Run Stores Still Can’t See

Blog 2: When the Shelf Breaks, So Does the Retail Business

Download the full report: The State of In-Store Retailing 2025