For over a year, Chennai-based video analytics start-up Tango Eye, was using artificial intelligence to help retailers do better business. The process was simple: big brands in apparel, accessory and electronics retail had to understand shopping patterns and buyer behaviour better.
Tango Eye provided the answer: it equipped a store’s CCTV cameras with software that would use artificial intelligence to study shoppers while they visited a store. Insights from the surveillance would then be fed into a dashboard and conveyed LIVE to the brand in question that can view and analyse it at the back-end.
“This way, retailers could get insights in terms of quantifiable data — footfalls, average time spent by a shopper a certain section and concentration areas, which in turn meant buyer interest, in terms of products and collections,” said Suren Gounder, Founder and CEO, Tango Eye. “A multi-brand retailer would thus be able to understand what kind of brands could bring in the most footfalls. This data helped them do better business.”
But these insights didn’t stop there. Tango Eye also helped store owners and brands gauge employee performance of salespeople at a store, and provided insights — all on the basis of CCTV footage and the video analytics derived from it.
Tango Eye got brands like Nykaa and L’Occitane among others to use its tech. It has its software installed in over 300 stores belonging to 10 brands in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Surveillance tech can ensure social-distancing too
The ongoing nationwide lockdown and closure of several retail establishments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Tango Eye to upgrade the capabilities of its technology. The reason was straightforward: once the lockdown ends and stores open, the obligation to ensure strict social-distancing will be more pronounced. Suren believes his technology that provided insights on shopper behaviour could have a role to play here, as well.
“We are now focused on building a health-secure model, Tango Eye Secure, which will help not just retailers but mall operators, office buildings, commercial spaces, offices, hospitals and banks ensure adequate precautionary measures like social distancing, hygiene and mask-compliance at these places,” says Suren.
In other words, Tango Eye’s tech, which has so far been deployed to gauge customer behaviour and store employee performance, will now have added features — social distancing, safety and hygiene compliances. This will be deployed remotely, contactless and in a fairly automated manner.
Tech to red-flag social-distancing violations
To enable these features, Tango Eye will look to update its existing software. “We will set limits for each store — how many people can be at a store, or a certain section at any given time — and the tech monitors overcrowding in a specific store or area,” Suren explains, adding, “If there is a breach, an alert goes out to a store manager who will then be required to take corrective measures.” Tango Eye also sends out a report to the brand’s LIVE dashboard at the back-end which allows company officials to conduct contact-tracing if required.
“The reason we’re doing this is to increase consumer confidence in public areas,” says Suren. "However, the fact remains that Tango Eye is targeting new business too. From servicing multi-brand retail outlets, the new feature will allow the start-up to sell its subscription-based tech to hospitals, entire commercial buildings and offices.”
Big business opportunity
At present, Tango Eye’s revenues stand at a little less than a crore. Once businesses reopen and should Tango Eye Secure be deployed as per plan to a wider range of establishments, the company believes it could have revenues of Rs 10 crore by the end of the year. At present, Tango Eye has 300 establishments. That number, Suren believes, can go up to 10,000 stores by the end of the year, especially given the emphasis on ensuring social-distancing at retail establishments.
Tango Eye says all retailers will get a three-month trial subscription to Tango Eye, completely free of charge. The subscription thereafter could average anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per store.
