Neolytics heralds a new era: where visibility becomes intelligent

The Belgian retail world is about to see a revolutionary innovation.
Neopaul-signs , which has been a benchmark in high-quality illuminated advertising with top-quality aesthetic design for decades, is joining forces with The Retail Factory, a specialist in data-driven insights for physical retail. Together, they are launching Neolytics, the world's first smart illuminated advertising, which transforms classic visibility into an intelligent measurement system. Although The Retail Factory has been providing retailers with insights into visitors and passers-by The Retail Factory , the innovation now lies in the subtle integration of the technology into fully customized illuminated advertising, which not only looks elegant but also facilitates installation.

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

A new category within retail

"Illuminated advertising has been a staple in retail for decades," Dries begins. "It is and remains one of the most powerful ways to make your brand visible ; that won't change. But we saw that the need was growing. With Neolytics, we are building on that strong foundation. Illuminated advertising attracts attention. Neolytics now also shows you how much attention you are getting and what that attention yields."

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

Jef: "We both know that there is a huge gap between visibility outside and behavior inside. Retailers already know a lot about their customers inside the store, but very little about their visitors and passers-by on the street, at the window, at the pylon sign, or in the parking lot. With Neolytics, we fill that void and emphasize 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 subtly integrate TRF's smart technology into the illuminated advertising, while Neopaul-signs provided the sleek, stylish, and fully customized design. The built-in TRF sensor registers visitors and passers-by 24/7, analyzes behavior, and provides valuable insights, without compromising the elegant design or ease of installation. "For the retailer, it feels like a beautiful illuminated advertisement, but it now also offers real-time insights into the behavior and movements of people around the location," explains Dries.

To measure is to know, but outside at street level

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

The built-in AI technology operates with 98% accuracy and provides 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 tailor their marketing to the visitors who really matter. It's 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 exactly what impact their efforts were having. Neolytics provides insight into this in an aesthetic and polished way. It allows you to combine classic illuminated advertising with intelligent data that can be used immediately for strategic decisions."

An innovation that fully maps the customer journey

"Many retailers have customer data, but often know little about what is happening outside in the shopping street, and whether this matches their target group," says Jef. "And that's exactly where the sales process begins. Neolytics provides insight into questions such as: Are these the right target groups for your store? Which visitors really pay attention to your shop window, and which ones walk by without looking?

Dries adds: "In the past, it was never easy to measure whether your efforts were reaching the right people. With Neolytics, you also gain insights into which moments and touchpoints have the most impact and where you have opportunities to optimize your strategy."

According to both partners, Neolytics is changing the way physical locations are viewed and understood. "The purchasing process starts from the moment a store becomes visible," says Jef. "At The Retail Factory , we The Retail Factory long The Retail Factory insight into how a passerby becomes a visitor and ultimately a customer; with Neolytics, this process is now fully integrated into a single system."

Dries adds: “What particularly appeals to organizations is that Neolytics does not require any additional complex systems. It simply adds a smart layer to the illuminated advertising, which not only maintains visibility but also provides valuable insights into the interests and behavior of people in and around your location.”

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

Neolytics is designed to be powerful and flexible , regardless of location or circumstances. Whether it concerns shops in busy shopping streets, façades of individual shops, shops with parking spaces, retail parks, large shopping centers, 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 organizations, property managers, and local authorities a complete insight into their environment.

Jef Van Hercklicht adds: "At these locations, we can track not only pedestrians, but also vehicles, trucks, and cyclists. We map traffic flows and the origin of visitors. We also track dwell time in parking lots, follow routes, and analyze how people move in and around the location. This gives retailers, retail parks, cities, and municipalities everything they need to optimize their returns, improve the visitor experience, and manage public spaces more efficiently."

“Neolytics will change retail”

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

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

The data comes to life in the personalized portal

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

Jef: "Whether you look at hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly data, everything is displayed in clear visual trends. You can compare periods, view benchmarks, and see exactly where things are going well and where adjustments are needed. This allows retailers to proactively improve their marketing, staffing, and location policies."

The portal turns insights into a powerful strategic tool. Retailers can experiment, measure results, and immediately optimize their actions, ensuring that every investment in visibility, window displays, or activations yields a measurable return.