Despite the growth of e-commerce, around 90% of retail purchases still happen in physical stores. Yet most retailers continue to make critical decisions using limited or historical data.
As part of our VIS Founder Series, we spoke with Paul Gheorghiu, CRO & Co-Founder of Footprints AI, about how AI-powered shopper intelligence is helping retailers better understand demand, reduce waste, and unlock new revenue opportunities.
Q: When Footprints AI was founded, what gap did you see in the way retailers and brands understood consumer behaviour in the physical world?
When we founded Footprints AI in 2018, we believed physical retail would remain the dominant place where purchasing decisions are made. While online behaviour is easy to track, physical retail is far more complex, with every store operating as its own micro-market.
At the time, retailers largely relied on panels and focus groups. We wanted to give them access to real-time intelligence that reflects what shoppers are actually doing today.
Q: How can better shopper intelligence help retailers and brands make smarter commercial and sustainability decisions?
Most forecasting relies on historical sales data. We focus on shopper behaviour instead.
By understanding who shoppers are, what drives their decisions, and what local factors influence demand, retailers can better align production, distribution, and inventory with actual purchasing patterns.
The result is less waste, fewer markdowns, and more efficient operations.
Q: Can you share a customer story that best demonstrates the value Footprints AI is creating?
One example is our partnership with Profi, Romania’s largest grocery retailer.
Within three months, Profi transformed more than 1,800 stores into a fully addressable retail media network powered by Footprints AI, resulting in a 20x increase in retail media revenue and significantly improved returns for advertisers.
Q: How do you see AI and shopper intelligence transforming the future of physical retail over the next five years?
Retailers will increasingly compete on how well they understand and serve their shoppers.
As physical stores continue generating valuable first-party data, AI will help retailers predict demand more accurately, personalise customer experiences, and make better decisions in real time.
The future belongs to retailers that evolve from selling products to truly understanding the people who buy them.
___
Today, Footprints AI helps retailers and brands reach more than 40 million shoppers across its network, with plans to expand to approximately 95 million shoppers in 2026.
Footprints AI demonstrates how better data can create both commercial and sustainability value. By helping retailers anticipate demand more accurately, reduce excess inventory, and optimise supply chains, AI has the potential to improve profitability while reducing waste across the retail ecosystem.
