Village Super Market tests out new Focal Systems computer vision powered inventory technology
Focal Systems, an AI powered retail technology company specialising in computer vision and shelf intelligence, has announced Top Stock, a module that gives retailers automatic, hourly visibility into inventory stored above the shelf line, without store associate audits, ladder climbs, or manual scanning.
During a one-month pilot, Village Supermarkets says it achieved:
$24,000 in previously unaccounted for inventory identified and recovered in the first month
75% reduction in weekly audit labour, from four hours to just one hour
Ten hours saved weekly on the night crew
36% reduction in top stock inventory
1% on-shelf availability improvement across test store, on top of an existing Focal driven baseline of 97%, where marginal gains at that level translate to hundreds of thousands in incremental annual sales
Increased day crew replenishment rates and planogram compliance
"The first thing Top Stock showed us was how much inventory we had above the shelf that wasn't making it into our replenishment workflow. Finding $24,000 in unaccounted inventory in the first month wasn't what we expected, but it told us immediately that this was a problem worth solving," says Bob Belsky, Senior VP at Village Supermarkets, ShopRite. "The labour savings on top of that made it an easy decision to keep going."
"Top Stock gives store teams something they've never had before: automatic, hourly visibility into inventory sitting above the shelf, without anyone having to climb a ladder or run a manual audit," says Allison Johnson, Director of Retail Consulting at Focal Systems. "Village Supermarkets' results show just how much inventory and labour value is hiding in plain sight for retailers who don't yet have this visibility."
Top Stock integrates directly with Focal's existing Action Tool, mapping top stock locations store by store and connecting available inventory to prioritised replenishment tasks, reducing the time and effort required even for staff unfamiliar with the store layout. The module is also configured to trigger replenishment tasks only when a full case pack will fit to shelf, avoiding the labour cost of breaking down a case prematurely.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
