Neolytics heralds a new era: where visibility becomes intelligent

The Belgian retail world is getting a revolutionary innovation.
Neopaul-signs, a reference for decades in quality illuminated signage with top aesthetic design, joins forces with The Retail Factory, a specialist in data-driven insights for physical retail. Together they launch Neolytics, the world's first smart illuminated signage, which transforms classic visibility into an intelligent measurement system. Although The Retail Factory has long been giving retailers insight into visitors and passers-by, the innovation now lies in subtly integrating the technology into fully custom-made illuminated signage that not only looks elegant, but also makes installation easier.

Dries Martens, managing director of Neopaul-signs, and Jef Van Herck, commercial director at The Retail Factory (TRF), talk about their collaboration and how this will permanently change physical retail.

A new category within retail

"Illuminated signage has been a fixture in retail for decades," begins Dries. "It is and remains one of the most powerful ways to make your brand visible, that doesn't change. But we saw that the need was broader. With Neolytics we build on that strong foundation. Illuminated signage attracts attention. Neolytics now also shows how much attention you get and what that attention delivers."

The idea to make classic illuminated signage smarter arose when Neopaul-signs and The Retail Factory saw a joint opportunity.

Jef: "We both know there is a huge gap between visibility outside and behaviour inside. Retailers already know a lot about their customers inside the store, but still very little about their visitors and passers-by on the street, at the window, at the pylon sign or in the car park. With Neolytics we fill that gap and emphasise making the potential visible. This is the first solution that combines visibility with intelligence."

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Creating a new standard: technology integrated into design

The goal was to integrate TRF's smart technology in a subtle way into the illuminated signage, while Neopaul-signs provided the sleek, stylish and fully custom-designed look. The built-in TRF sensor registers visitors and passers-by 24/7, analyses behaviour and delivers valuable insights, without compromising the elegant design or ease of installation. "For the retailer it feels like beautiful illuminated signage, but it now also offers real-time insights into the behaviour and movements of people around the location," explains Dries.

Measuring is knowing, but outside at street level

Where illuminated signage used to mainly serve to be visible, Neolytics goes a step further. The system records fully anonymised demographic data of everyone in the vicinity: passers-by walking past, visitors entering the store, and people who pause at the shop window, including the duration of their attention. Capture rate, footfall, window performance and zone analysis are automatically made visible, fully GDPR-compliant.

The built-in AI technology works with 98% accuracy and offers in-depth insights into visitor flows, dwell time, demographic characteristics such as gender, age and height, individual and group movements, routes and parking and traffic flows at pylon signs.

Jef Van Herck explains: "Neolytics enables retailers to measure the entire environment of their location, not just what happens inside. They get a clear picture of the movements and interests of people on the street, can strategically improve their visibility and effectively align their marketing with the visitors who really matter. It is the offline way to apply A/B testing and achieve maximum impact."

Dries adds: "Retailers have been investing in visibility for years, but never knew precisely what effects their efforts had. With Neolytics this becomes visible, and in an aesthetic and finished way. This way you combine classic illuminated signage with intelligent data that is directly actionable for strategic decisions."

An innovation that fully maps the customer journey

"Many retailers have customer data, but often know little about what happens outside in the shopping street, and whether this matches the target group," says Jef. "And that is precisely where the sales process begins. Neolytics provides insight into, among other things, the following questions: Are they the right target groups for your store? Which visitors truly pay attention to your shop window, and which walk past without looking?"

Dries adds: "It was never easy before to measure whether your efforts reach the right people. With Neolytics you also gain insights into which moments and touchpoints have the greatest impact and where opportunities lie to optimise your strategy."

According to both partners, Neolytics changes the way physical locations are viewed and understood. "The purchase process begins from the moment a store is visible," says Jef. "At The Retail Factory we have long been making it clear how a passer-by becomes a visitor and ultimately a customer; with Neolytics this process is now fully integrated into one system."

Dries adds: "What appeals to organisations in particular is that Neolytics does not require an extra complex system. It simply adds an intelligent layer to the illuminated signage, so visibility is not only maintained, but also delivers valuable insights about the interest and behaviour of people in and around your location."

For shops, retail parks and shopping centres and more, at any height, in any weather

Neolytics is designed to be deployed powerfully and flexibly, regardless of location or conditions. Whether it concerns shops in busy shopping streets, façades of individual stores, shops with car parks, retail parks, large shopping centres or public spaces managed by cities and municipalities, the system records continuously and reliably. Even on pylon signs and totem boards the technology remains stable, regardless of height or weather conditions, giving organisations, property managers and local authorities complete insight into their environment.

Jef Van Herck explains: "At these locations we can not only track pedestrians, but also vehicles, lorries and cyclists. We also map traffic flows and the origin of visitors. In addition, we track dwell time in car parks, follow routes and analyse how people move in and around the location. This gives retailers, retail parks and cities and municipalities everything they need to optimise their return, improve the visitor experience and manage public spaces more efficiently."

"Neolytics will change retail"

Both partners are convinced that Neolytics is not just a product, but a milestone for physical retail. "The physical world becomes measurable in the same way as the online world. Retailers can finally track the full journey from passer-by to visitor and customer, and know which actions actually have an effect," says Jef.

Dries: "And this is only the beginning. With Neolytics we transform visibility into strategy and signage into intelligence. Retailers gain insight into what works and where opportunities lie to optimise their physical locations."

Data comes to life in the personalised portal

All insights from Neolytics are translated into clear, personalised dashboards in The Retail Factory portal. Here retailers can work with the data themselves, analyse trends and make adjustments directly based on concrete facts.

Jef: "Whether you look per hour, day, week or month, everything is displayed in clear visual trends. You can compare periods, view benchmarks and see precisely where things are going well and where adjustments are needed. This way retailers can proactively improve their marketing, staff planning and location policy."

The portal turns the insights into a powerful strategic instrument. Retailers can experiment, measure results and optimise their actions directly, making every investment in visibility, shop windows or activations measurably pay off.