Storesight's AI Aims to End the Retail Shelf Guessing Game

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – February 02, 2026 – Storesight, a retail intelligence firm, today launched a new platform that promises to give Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands a near-superpower: the ability to see their products on thousands of store shelves in real time. The new "Share of Shelf" solution combines proprietary Artificial Intelligence with a vast network of real-world shoppers to replace decades-old, manual data collection methods with a continuous stream of actionable shelf intelligence.

From Infrequent Snapshots to a Live Feed

For years, CPG companies have fought the "shelf war" with one arm tied behind their backs. Success in the fiercely competitive retail environment hinges on what happens in the store—product placement, stock levels, and visibility against competitors. Yet, the data used to make critical decisions has often been infrequent, expensive, and outdated. Brands have traditionally relied on periodic store audits or "snapshot" reports, which provide a glimpse of shelf conditions at a single moment in time. By the time this data is compiled and analyzed, the reality on the shelf has often changed.

Storesight's new platform aims to shift the industry from what one analyst called "postgame scorekeeping" to "in-game coaching." By providing daily updates with data queries that load in under a second, the company claims it can transform how brands manage their physical retail presence. The solution covers over 80% of All-Commodity Volume (ACV) across more than 480 categories and 5,000 brands.

"The data needed to win at the shelf is now non-negotiable. Storesight Share of Shelf provides the critical intelligence brands need to play offense, continuously delivering the industry's deepest insights in seconds, not weeks," said Ty Kasperbauer, CEO of Storesight, in the official announcement. He emphasized the goal of making the data accessible and intuitive so that entire teams can act on it quickly. This move from reactive analysis of historical sales data to proactive management of the live shelf environment represents a fundamental change in retail strategy.

A Marriage of Human Shoppers and AI Analysis

The engine behind Storesight's offering is a unique blend of human intelligence and machine learning. The company, formed in 2024 from the merger of crowdsourcing pioneer Field Agent and AI innovator Shelfgram, leverages a network of over three million everyday shoppers. These individuals use a mobile app to capture and upload photos of product shelves during their regular shopping trips. According to the company, a new photo is captured every second across 50,000 retail locations.

Once uploaded, proprietary AI gets to work. The system is trained to analyze the images, identifying and mapping every product facing. It scans for text, pricing information, and out-of-stocks, achieving a recognition accuracy rate of up to 95%. This process turns a simple photograph into a rich dataset, measuring metrics like linear shelf space, product count, and placement relative to the "strike zone"—the eye-level area where shoppers are most likely to look.

To ensure data integrity, a potential concern with any crowdsourced model, Storesight employs a human quality assurance team to vet photos before they enter the analysis pipeline. The company argues this hybrid approach provides the best of both worlds: the "ground truth" of what a real shopper sees, combined with the speed, scale, and objectivity of AI analysis. "With this release, Storesight moves beyond shelf visibility into full analytic instrumentation, turning every photo into measurable, unbiased intelligence," noted Bram Warshafsky, Chief Product Officer.

The Tangible ROI of Winning the Shelf

While the technology is impressive, CPG brands are ultimately focused on the bottom line. Storesight claims its platform can help brands secure an average sales lift of 5% to 15% by optimizing in-store execution and product availability. This claim finds support in established retail research. Academic studies have long shown a direct correlation between shelf placement and sales; a 1994 study by Dréze, Hoch, and Purk found that improved product placement and space allocation could yield sales gains of 4-6%, with more recent analyses suggesting even higher impacts. Moving a product from a low-traffic bottom shelf to an eye-level position can dramatically increase sales.

By providing continuous data, the platform enables brands to quickly identify and rectify issues like out-of-stocks—a notorious source of lost revenue—or poor placement. It also fuels competitive intelligence, allowing a brand manager to track a rival's new product launch or promotional display in near real-time.

This data-driven approach also promises to reshape the often-contentious relationship between CPG manufacturers and retailers. Instead of relying on anecdotal evidence or outdated reports during shelf-space negotiations, brand managers can present objective, data-backed calculations. This fosters a more collaborative partnership focused on mutual growth by optimizing the category for the shopper, not just fighting for a single brand's advantage.

A New Operating System for Physical Retail

The launch of continuous, AI-powered shelf monitoring tools like Storesight's is indicative of a broader transformation in the retail industry. As e-commerce has perfected the art of tracking every click and impression, physical retail has struggled to match that level of granular data. Solutions that digitize the physical shelf are closing that gap, creating what some are calling a "new operating system for retail."

With an existing client roster for its broader services that includes major players like The Clorox Company and PepsiCo, Storesight is building on a foundation of trust within the CPG industry. The platform’s intuitive interface and Application Programming Interface (API), which allows integration with existing business intelligence tools, are designed to encourage widespread adoption within an organization, from brand managers to the supply chain team.

By providing an always-on view of the most critical point of sale—the store shelf—this technology empowers brands to move faster, make smarter decisions, and ultimately better serve the end consumer. As the retail landscape becomes ever more complex and competitive, access to this kind of real-time, ground-truth intelligence may no longer be a luxury, but a necessity for survival and growth.