UPDATING ONLINE STORE INVENTORY BASED ON PHYSICAL STORE INVENTORY

1 - 235 . (canceled)

236 . A system for identifying products and tracking inventory in a retail store based on analysis of image data, the system comprising:

at least one processor configured to:

receive image data from a plurality of image sensors mounted in a retail store;

analyze the image data to estimate a current inventory of at least one product type in the retail store;

receive product supply information associated with the at least one product type in the retail store;

determine that an online order from a virtual store made during a first time period will be fulfilled by an employee of the retail store during a second time period;

determine, based on the current inventory estimated by analyzing the image data and the product supply information, a predicted inventory of the at least one product type during the second time period; and

provide information to the virtual store regarding the predicted inventory of the at least one product type during the second time period such that the virtual store can present during the first time period an inventory indicator for the at least one product type.

237 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the product supply information includes at least one of: a schedule of arrivals of additional products, inventory records, checkout data, calendar data, and historical product turnover data.

238 . The system of claim 236 , wherein, when the at least one processor determines that the at least one product type is out of stock in the current inventory and that it will be available during the second time period, the at least one processor is configured to provide information to the virtual store indicating that the at least one product type can be offered for sale.

239 . The system of claim 236 , wherein, when the at least one processor determines that the at least one product type is available in the current inventory and that it will be out of stock during the second time period, the at least one processor is configured to provide information to the virtual store indicating that the at least one product type cannot be offered for sale.

240 . The system of claim 239 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to estimate, based on the product supply information, when the at least one product type will be available for online orders; and

provide information to the virtual store such that the virtual store can present an estimation when the at least one product type will be available for online orders.

241 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the product supply information from a memory device associated with the retail store.

242 . The system of claim 241 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

use the product supply information from the retail store to determine at least one rate of product turnover; and

determine the predicted inventory for different products in the retail store using the at least one rate of product turnover.

243 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the product supply information from at least one memory device associated with multiple retail stores.

244 . The system of claim 243 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to use a regression model associated with the multiple retail stores to determine the predicted inventory.

245 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the second time period is at least three hours after the first time period.

246 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the second time period based on a schedule associated with the retail store.

247 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

obtain product quality information associated with the at least one product type;

determine, based on the product quality information, a predicted quality of the at least one product type at a third time period when the products of the online order are estimated be delivered to a customer of the virtual store; and

initiate at least one action when the predicted quality of the at least one product is below a threshold.

248 . The system of claim 247 , wherein the product quality information is determined by analyzing image data.

249 . The system of claim 247 , wherein the product quality information is determined from at least one of: textual information derived from image data, visual appearance of products from the at least one product type, a duration of products from the at least one product type on a shelf, turnover of products from the at least one product type on the shelf, and storage requirements associated with the at least one product type.

250 . The system of claim 247 , wherein, when the predicted quality of the at least one product type is below the threshold, the at least one processor is further configured to prevent the virtual store from selling the at least one product type.

251 . The system of claim 247 , wherein, when the predicted quality of the at least one product type is below the threshold, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the virtual store to adjust a price of the at least one product type based on the predicted quality.

252 . The system of claim 247 , wherein, when the predicted quality of the at least one product type is below the threshold, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the virtual store to present a quality indicator when offering the at least one product type.

253 . The system of claim 247 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

use the estimated current inventory to select at least one alternative product; and

when the predicted quality of the at least one product type is below the threshold, cause the virtual store to present the selected at least one alternative product.

254 . The system of claim 253 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

obtain product quality information associated with a plurality of alternative products; and

use the product quality information associated with the plurality of alternative products to select the at least one alternative product of the plurality of alternative products.

255 . The system of claim 253 , wherein the product quality information associated with the plurality of alternative products is determined by analyzing image data.

256 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to monitor inventory of the at least one product type on a first shelving unit and on a second shelving unit to predict the current inventory of at least one product type in the retail store based on aggregated data from the first shelving unit and the second shelving unit.

257 . The system of claim 256 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to guide the employee to the second shelving unit when the at least one product type is predicted to be out of stock on the first shelving unit.

258 . The system of claim 236 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to estimate the current inventory of the at least one product type using a combination of image data and data from at least one presence sensor configured to detect a number of products placed on a shelf.

259 . A method for identifying products and tracking inventory in a retail store based on analysis of image data, the system comprising:

receiving image data from a plurality of image sensors mounted in a retail store;

analyzing the image data to estimate a current inventory of at least one product type in the retail store;

receiving product supply information associated with the at least one product type in the retail store;

determining that an online order from a virtual store, made during a first time period, will be fulfilled by an employee of the retail store during a second time period;

determining, based on the current inventory estimated by analyzing the image data and the product supply information, a predicted inventory of the at least one product type during the second time period; and

providing information to the virtual store regarding the predicted inventory of the at least one product type during the second time period such that the virtual store can present during the first time period an inventory indicator for the at least one product.

260 . A computer program product for identifying products in a retail store based on image analysis of captured images embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor, the computer program product including instructions for causing the at least one processor to execute a method comprising:

receiving image data from a plurality of image sensors mounted in a retail store;

analyzing the image data to estimate a current inventory of at least one product type in the retail store;

receiving product supply information associated with the at least one product type in the retail store;

determining that an online order from a virtual store made during a first time period will be fulfilled by an employee of the retail store during a second time period;

determining, based on the current inventory estimated by analyzing the image data and the product supply information, a predicted inventory of the at least one product type during the second time period; and

providing information to the virtual store regarding the predicted inventory of the at least one product type during the second time period such that the virtual store can present during the first time period an inventory indicator for the at least one product.

261 - 284 . (canceled)