Prayas Analytics helps retailers boost sales using in-store security camera

Prayas Analytics, a marketing metrics platform founded by two graduates from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, could provide you the key data to evaluate the market progress of your business.

Yash Kothari, Prayas Analytics co-founder and CEO, describes the company as "the Google Analytics for physical retail stores". Prayas Analytics gives retailers data on in-store customer movement by using existing security cameras.

Prayas Analytics is a system that collects data using security cameras without setting up any hardware. The software compiles data like the average waiting time, service engagement, and negative responses from the customers. Such information in the physical store is needed to see how well the store performs. The management could set plans to develop its customer service, monitor the product that sells and put up a more productive labor force through the system.

Prayas will be plugged to the store's security cameras. After the integration, the system, which is IP connected, will analyze the video feed and will provide its own data and insights. All you need to fill in are the username and password and the system will yield analytics instantly.

The platform builds insights that will help you understand the market trends through your data in a very simple way. It will let you spot the glitches and observe the details when needed.

Prayas concentrates on only one spot which is the cash register. The platform will not distinguish face and customer's identity. At the same time, the data accumulated by the system are encrypted so the client sharing of information is safe and protected.

The founders, Pranshu Maheshwari and Yash Kothari, both from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, combined the emerging technology with the fundamental details in the business to collect analytics regarding the customer's activities.

Last year, in an interview with Technical.ly Philly, Kothari said that Prayas had settled a Fortune 200 retailer after the team initially analyzed a video from three stores in Pennsylvania. The retail company immediately expanded in 50 locations.

Prayas had received a Wharton's Snider Seed Award and is also one of the Wharton VIP companies. The startup had also been a semifinalist in Wharton's Business Plan Competition.