For data and research
A source that didn’t exist.
Most data about independent retail comes from the stores whose systems were easiest to connect. Stores on older registers stay out of the picture. Canter reads the counter itself, without a feed from the register.
Tell us what you need to seeWhere a register feed reaches
The stores on systems someone could connect to.
Where the counter reaches
Any store that rings up with a barcode or prints a receipt.
Who’s been waiting for this.
Investors
Is this category turning before the earnings call says so?
Research and data companies
What do the stores outside my panel sell?
Lenders and fintech
Is this store’s business what its owner says it is? (Only with the owner’s yes.)
Site selection
What does this block actually buy?
Public health and policy
What can people really buy within walking distance of home?
Know what you’re buying.
A signal is only worth what you can say about it. Here’s what each layer supports, and where it stops.
One scan
What it tells youThis barcode was read at this counter at this time.
Where it stopsA scan can be a price check, a void or a return.
A scan and a receipt
What it tells youA sale completed, for this product, at this price.
Where it stopsHow many are left.
Many stores, over time
What it tells youMovement, price and adoption, with a stated confidence and sample.
Where it stopsIt’s an estimate, shared within what stores agreed to and the rules for each category.
The same signal answers other questions too
The best use may be one we haven’t thought of.
If you’ve needed to see inside a kind of store for years, say which one. If it isn’t on the network, we’ll go get it, and you can back the rollout to go first.