UST Lift and Learn: Smart Shelving for Retail Analytics

UST Lift and Learn: Smart Shelving for Retail Analytics transforms standard shelves into IoT smart shelving that responds the moment a shopper picks up a product. Using embedded weight and presence sensors, connected digital displays, edge computing, and a cloud-native CMS on AWS, the solution automatically plays contextual content, such as product explainers, comparisons, ratings, and cross-sell offers every time an item is lifted.

Each interaction is captured as privacy-conscious, SKU-level in-store analytics, giving retailers a clear view of which products are touched, for how long, in what sequence, and in which stores. These insights help teams understand true product interest, conversion funnels, and retail media performance without relying only on point-of-sale data.

Designed for brands, retailers, and CPG manufacturers, UST Lift and Learn enables smarter retail analytics, more effective in-store marketing, and new monetizable media inventory on existing shelf space. The platform is built on AWS for security, resiliency, and scalability, making it easy to deploy in one store as a pilot and expand across thousands of locations with consistent experiences and centralized control.

Key Features

• IoT smart shelving with lift-triggered content: Shelf-mounted sensors detect when a shopper lifts or replaces a specific SKU, automatically triggering tailored content on nearby digital displays to educate, compare, or upsell.
• SKU-level in-store analytics and reporting: Captures touch events, dwell time, and interaction patterns at the product level, enabling granular retail analytics on shopper behavior and campaign effectiveness.
• Edge intelligence for low-latency experiences: Processes sensor events at the edge for near-instant content responses, ensuring responsive, reliable experiences even with intermittent connectivity.
• Cloud-native CMS on AWS: Central teams use a cloud CMS to design, schedule, and A/B test Lift and Learn experiences, update content in real time, and manage configurations across banners, formats, and regions.
• Flexible, modular hardware and integrations: Works with a range of shelf formats and digital signage, connects via Wi-Fi, LAN, and HDMI, and integrates with POS, CRM, and retail media platforms to enrich existing data ecosystems.
• Secure, scalable AWS architecture: Built on AWS services for security, observability, and multi-region scalability, supporting controlled rollouts, remote monitoring, and consistent in-store analytics across thousands of devices.

Key Benefits

• Increased shopper engagement and conversion: Contextual, lift-triggered content captures shopper attention at the shelf, drives deeper product understanding, and increases the likelihood of purchase.
• Measurable sales uplift and higher ROI: By combining targeted messaging with SKU-level analytics, retailers and brands can directly link Lift and Learn campaigns to sales performance and retail media ROI.
• Better product and assortment decisions: Visibility into which products are frequently lifted but not purchased helps teams refine assortments, pricing, packaging, and shelf placement based on real behavior, not assumptions.
• New retail media revenue from existing shelves: Turns standard gondolas into premium retail media inventory that brands will pay for, with transparent reporting on impressions, interactions, and incremental sales.
• Faster experimentation and continuous optimization: Cloud-based content control and A/B testing make it easy to trial new messages, creatives, and offers, then rapidly scale what works across store networks.
• Reduced deployment and operational overhead: Modular hardware, centralized management, and AWS-based monitoring simplify installation, updates, and support, reducing demands on store staff and IT teams.
• Stronger omnichannel and shopper insights: When integrated with POS, CRM, and loyalty systems, Lift and Learn connects in-store analytics with digital journeys, giving retailers a fuller picture of shopper intent and path to purchase.