Customer Path Generation Simulation for Selection from Proposed Grocery Store Layouts

Abstract

Before a grocery store opens, key operational decisions must be made with no historical data. One important decision is how to optimally lay out the store to maximize consumer spending. This work reviews existing literature on simulation to optimize grocery store layout, uses computer vision techniques to transform a store diagram into a digital representation, and applies simulation methods to approximate which of several layouts proposed by a store designer would result in the highest amount of impulse purchasing. Output analysis methods are used to compare these results to determine whether one design outperforms the others.