Retail Aware

# Retail Aware: In-Store Shopper Behavior Analytics

High-Level Overview

Retail Aware is a sensor-based analytics company that helps brands, retailers, and their partners measure in-store shopper behavior in real time.[2] Founded in 2018 and based in Omaha, Nebraska, the company provides a BiaaS (Business as a Service) data solution that tracks customer engagement, product display effectiveness, and shopper dwell time using proprietary microsensor technology.[1][2] The company serves major retail players—its client roster has a combined market capitalization exceeding $250 billion—and operates across more than 200 markets globally.[1][2]

The core problem Retail Aware solves is a critical gap in retail intelligence: brands and retailers historically lacked efficient, real-time ways to measure the ROI of in-store product displays and understand how shoppers interact with products at the shelf level.[5] By deploying non-intrusive sensors that require no cameras, beacons, or RFID tags, Retail Aware enables clients to optimize product placement, execution rates, and sales performance with data-driven precision.[4]

Origin Story

Retail Aware was founded by Keith Fix, a tech entrepreneur who began his career as a teenager building technology ventures.[6][7] The company emerged from Fix's accumulated experience across retail and technology sectors, addressing a specific pain point he identified: the absence of turnkey solutions for measuring in-store shopper behavior at scale.[4] The founding mission was straightforward—bring in-store shopper behavior data to brands, retailers, and their partners in real time—and the company validated this approach by testing tools in real retail environments, including a West Omaha convenience store.[2][6]

Early traction came from deploying sensors across multiple markets and attracting marquee clients, including the largest beverage company, top electronics retailers, and major box store chains.[6] By 2024, the company had raised $4.36 million in total funding and achieved sufficient scale to attract acquisition interest.[3]

Core Differentiators

• Privacy-First Architecture: Retail Aware's solution uses no cameras, beacons, or RFID tags—a critical differentiator in an era of privacy concerns.[4] The technology requires no modification to shelves, fixtures, or products, making deployment frictionless.[4]

• Sensor Versatility: The company maintains a library of cost-effective microsensors—wireless, battery-powered, or wired—including ambient sensors, thermal microsensors, visual light sensors, temperature sensors, and switch sensors.[1] This modular approach allows customization for diverse retail problems.

• Data Integration & Accessibility: Retail Aware integrates seamlessly with existing enterprise tools (Power BI, Tableau, SAP) via REST API and provides insights through web portals, proprietary dashboards, and automated reports.[1] The platform tracks data goals and iterates on execution to ensure client requirements are met.[1]

• Agnostic Platform Design: The company describes its solution as a "Swiss Army Knife"—a single platform applicable to any specific retail problem, from measuring display effectiveness to detecting out-of-stock conditions and tracking shopper engagement patterns.[1][4]

• Scalability: Retail Aware's technology scales from monitoring a single product to hundreds of products across hundreds of locations, with minimal power consumption (less than 0.00001W).[4]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Retail Aware operates at the intersection of IoT (Internet of Things), retail analytics, and the broader shift toward data-driven physical retail optimization. The company is riding a significant trend: as e-commerce pressures intensify, brick-and-mortar retailers increasingly recognize that understanding in-store shopper behavior is essential to competing on experience and conversion rates.

The timing is particularly favorable because retailers and CPG brands face mounting pressure to justify marketing spend and optimize shelf execution in real time. Traditional methods—manual audits, periodic surveys, or camera-based systems—are either too slow, too invasive, or too expensive. Retail Aware's non-intrusive, real-time sensor approach fills this gap precisely when retailers need it most.

The company's influence extends beyond its direct clients. By democratizing access to in-store behavioral data, Retail Aware is helping reshape how brands think about the "place" variable in the classic marketing mix (product, price, promotion, place).[6] This shift encourages the broader retail ecosystem to adopt data-driven decision-making for physical spaces—a trend that benefits the entire category of retail tech vendors.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Retail Aware's acquisition by Glimpse Analytics in October 2024 marks a significant inflection point.[3] The merger combines Retail Aware's sensor expertise with Glimpse's digital insights capabilities, creating a "retail analytics powerhouse" positioned to scale rapidly.[2][5] The company's stated ambition to expand from 200 markets to 100,000 locations within several years suggests aggressive growth ahead.[1]

Looking forward, Retail Aware's trajectory will likely be shaped by three forces: (1) continued expansion into underserved geographies, particularly Latin America, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, where the company is already building relationships;[2] (2) integration with complementary sensor manufacturers to broaden its platform capabilities;[1] and (3) deepening its analytics layer to move beyond raw behavioral data toward predictive insights and automated optimization recommendations.

The fundamental thesis remains compelling: as physical retail becomes increasingly data-driven, companies that can deliver real-time, privacy-respecting insights into shopper behavior will become essential infrastructure for brands and retailers seeking to compete in a hybrid commerce world.