It's On: Revisiting talks on The Future of Retail Intelligence & Category Management

Artificial intelligence has permeated the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, just as it has everywhere else. And while this emergence of new technologies possesses some novelty, CPG professionals know that a tool is only as good as the strategy behind it. The real story isn't just about AI; it's about the fundamental framework shift that AI enables.

That’s why Storesight has been bringing CPG leaders into dialogue through our webinar series this summer. We've explored the new tools, the new rules, and the new playbooks required to win in modern retail. As we reflect on the insights shared by leaders like Storesight’s own Ty Kasperbauer, Bram Warshafsky, and Henry Ho, alongside industry pioneers like Dr. Brian Harris, a clear picture emerges. The future of retail isn't just about having better technology; it's about integrating that technology into a smarter, faster, and more strategic process.

July’s Webinar: Outlining The New Reality of CPG

Back in July, a very busy month for Storesight, The Future of Retail Intelligence brought together a collection of Storesight’s thought leaders to outline the impetus of Storesight, the official union of Shelfgram and Field Agent. In this first webinar, we shared that this merger wasn't just about combining two companies; it was about combining two essential capabilities: Field Agent's massive, nationwide network of 3 million shoppers for real-time data collection, and Shelfgram's intuitive AI platform. The result is that fresh and powerful data can be now turned into immediate, actionable intelligence.

This new combination has fundamentally changed the rules of the game for CPG brands. The key takeaways from our panel revealed a new operating reality:

1. Expect Faster Cycles: The days of waiting for weekly or monthly sales reports to understand performance can and should be over. With real-time, on-the-shelf data, brands can now move from using lagging indicators to leading indicators through visibility. This means identifying an out-of-stock, a pricing error, or a competitive threat today and fixing it tomorrow; rather than learning about it a month from now when it’s too late.

2. Expect More to Be Expected of You: As more and more CPG brands choose to invest in these powerful tools, especially in partnering with Storesight, their retail partners are raising their expectations. As for the retailer’s motive, actors are already steps ahead in their own AI adoption. With the availability for faster insights, vendor partners will be expected to come to the table with sophisticated, data-backed insights that go beyond last quarter’s sales figures. It’s simple business.

3. A New Opportunity for Collaboration: The brands that can deliver these insights will win. We shared the story of a manufacturer who, after 10 years of trying, finally won category captaincy at Walmart. They did it by using our platform to provide the buyer with timely, relevant insights about the entire category—becoming an indispensable strategic partner in the process. This is the new currency of collaboration: actionable, forward-looking intelligence.

The Old Playbook is Broken: Reinventing Category Management in August

If the first webinar established the new, high-speed reality of retail, our second session with Dr. Brian Harris, the "father of category management," explained that the traditional playbook for category managers needs to evolve with the industry as a whole. In The Future of Category Management, Dr. Harris delivered a compelling argument: “the 35-year-old process that built the industry is now holding it back.”

He identified severe limitations in the old model, noting that it has become:

• Too Tactical: Focused on planograms and assortments, losing its strategic connection.

• Too Backward-Looking: Reliant on historical data in a market where the past is no longer a reliable predictor of the future.

• Too Slow: A six-month planning cycle is functionally obsolete when consumer behavior shifts in a matter of weeks.

And Dr. Harris’s observations are not to criticize the industry standard, but to help category managers identify a lagging model. So, in response, Dr. Harris introduced a new, three-phase framework designed for agility and strategic depth: Strategy (understanding the why behind shopper behavior), Planning (identifying high-potential shoppers), and Execution (activating the plan). This evolved process is built to leverage the very real-time data streams we discussed in our first webinar.

Connecting the Dots: Where a New Platform Meets a New Process

Looking at these two conversations together, the conclusion is clear. On one hand, AI is a powerful new engine for retail intelligence; the ability to gather and analyze in-store data at unprecedented scale and speed. On the other, it has a new, strategy-driven roadmap for success from one of its most respected architects.

The two are intrinsically linked.

Dr. Harris’s new framework for category management is the "proven business process" he spoke about. A greater influx of insights driven by AI will demand a deep, forward-looking understanding of shopper motivations and the ability to execute and adjust plans with agility. As all thought leaders reminded listeners, the choice of CPG companies to rely on lagging data insights will simply cause loss. Success and industry captaincy on the other hand,  will require the exact kind of real-time, granular intelligence that the Storesight platform delivers.

The future of retail belongs to the brands that can successfully connect the platform to the process. It's for the teams who embrace a new cadence of decision-making and a new depth of collaboration with their retail partners. The tools are here. The playbook has been written. Now, it's on.