What if the store of tomorrow could become a digital asset as powerful as an online platform? This is the idea behind Vusion Group. Present at Gitex Global in Dubai , the French company, with three decades of experience, aims to reconcile traditional commerce and smart technologies.

"Our goal is to make the store a digital asset for retailers," explains Omar Abou Sheiba, responsible for development and value creation for retail clients. To achieve this, Vusion Group combines "know-how and expertise in hardware, software, and business processes."

At its booth, the company is exhibiting a miniature model of connected shelves. "Our solution focuses on optimizing business processes, particularly with dynamic pricing and automating promotional management," explains Abou Sheiba. Thanks to electronic displays, prices are updated instantly and promotional campaigns are triggered without human intervention.

But the transformation doesn't stop there. Vusion Group's innovation also leverages a highly prized technological commodity: data. Overlooking the shelves, cameras take periodic snapshots to analyze, using artificial intelligence, merchandising compliance and product availability. "AI will provide targeted and concrete actions to ensure there are no stockouts, that the products are facing the correct label, and that the displayed price matches the one at the checkout," he explains. This information then feeds into a valuable database that distributors can monetize with brands.

"Our latest version allows us to locate not only products, but also employees and consumers," says Abou Sheiba. Connected via Bluetooth, the customer's smartphone allows them to be up to date on personalized promotions. "We'll detect your presence and, since your loyalty card is registered, we'll send you a specific offer tailored to your purchasing habits." This hyper-personalization is based on the group's Data Analytics platform, hosted in the cloud and fully encrypted. "The customer has complete control over their data," he assures.

Automation, often perceived as a threat to jobs, is intended to save employees time. According to Abou Sheiba, the labor shortage is mainly due to the arduous nature of the work. "Employees have to replace thousands of labels in a few hours. We allow them to focus on higher-value tasks, such as inventory management or customer advice." The company claims that its solutions can "save several full-time equivalents per store" while improving service quality.

Asked about the technologies used, the representative clarified: "We work mainly with IoT technologies. These are sensors connected to the cloud, where our artificial intelligence, big data, and computer vision algorithms analyze operations to optimize them." As for the cameras, he dismissed any idea of intrusive surveillance: "We don't use facial recognition. As long as a person is in front of the camera, no photos are taken, because we want to preserve the privacy of customers and employees."

Already established in Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, Vusion Group is continuing its expansion. “The digital transformation of physical retail is still in its infancy. The market is only a few percent penetrated,” says Abou Sheiba.

Furthermore, the company claims its position as a pioneer, "the only one to offer technology combining geolocation, automation and computer vision to meet critical business challenges."

Looking ahead, the company, listed on the French stock exchange, is posting annual growth of between 20 and 30%. Its ambition is to consolidate its technological leadership and strengthen its proximity to distributors to better understand their needs.