By Kyle & Jason Dorfling, CEO & CFO of DotActiv
The retail landscape doesn’t just change; it accelerates. For years, DotActiv has been at the forefront of category management innovation, but what we are announcing today isn’t just an update—it is a fundamental shift in how retailers and suppliers will interact with data, shelf space, and each other.
We are entering a new era of intelligence. Today, I am proud to unveil a suite of capabilities that leverages the most advanced Artificial Intelligence to solve the oldest problem in retail: getting the right product, in the right space, at the right time, with zero friction.
1. Nova: Planogramming at the Speed of Thought
The days of manually dragging and dropping every single SKU are coming to an end. We are introducing Nova, our new AI-driven engine designed to automate the heavy lifting of category planning. Nova features Zero-Base Planogram Generation using AI.
Nova is able to leverage AI intelligence to recommend the flow of product groupings at each level of your consumer decision tree with the click of a button, whilst still allowing you to make changes based on your retail landscape.
The Evolution of Automation Nova is built to learn and scale. We are releasing the next leap forward with Fine-Tuned Planogram Learning, which will allow the engine to adapt to your specific category nuances and merchandising DNA rather than just following generic rules.
Batch Generation capabilities will empower you to instantly scale your strategy, automating the creation of multiple size variants in a single run to eliminate manual rework.
Future-Proofing with Model Agnostic AI: Crucially, we have built Nova to be AI model agnostic. This is a massive strategic advantage for your business. In the rapidly evolving world of AI, locking yourself into a single proprietary model is a risk.
Instead, Nova allows you to connect to the latest and greatest models—such as Gemini and OpenAI—as they are released. This means your software doesn’t just stay current; it gets smarter every time the tech giants release an update. You are not buying a static tool; you are investing in a platform that evolves with the cutting edge of global AI development.
Please Note: The initial release of Nova is optimized strictly for shelf-based fixtures. Support for hanging bars and pegboards will be rolled out in future updates.
2. Lola: Your Intelligent Data Analyst
We have completely revamped the user interface and capabilities of Lola, an AI assistant that lives within the application. Lola is not a generic chatbot; she is a retail specialist who is contextually aware of what you are working on.
Lola offers:
- Deep Context Awareness: Lola provides document-specific feedback and intelligence on your Planograms and DotActiv Report Templates (DRTs).
- Database Interaction: You can ask Lola questions directly about the data in your database.
- Instant Support: Connected to our PowerBase, Lola can answer support and training questions instantly, acting as an always-on expert sitting right next to you.
3. TrueView: Closing the Compliance Loop
A planogram is only as good as its execution. On February 16th, we are releasing TrueView, our image recognition solution.
TrueView allows for shelf space compliance reporting using image recognition. By simply analysing images of the shelf, we can now close the loop between the planogram and the physical reality in-store, ensuring compliance and maximising ROI.
4. DotActiv Viewer: Bridging the Gap
Collaboration is the heartbeat of successful category management. Also arriving on February 16th is the DotActiv Viewer.
This tool is designed specifically for collaboration with suppliers and internal users who need to sign plans off. It ensures that trade partners can view, comment on and approve plans without requiring the complexity of a full editing license.
Unbeatable Value: Competitive, All-Inclusive Pricing
We believe advanced AI shouldn’t be gated behind obscure pricing models. We have designed our new pricing tiers to be the most competitive in the market, bundling high-value capabilities like Image Recognition directly into your license volume.
Here is how we are delivering more value than anyone else, with clear estimates on what your credits can produce:
Flexible Tiers for Every Need: We offer a transparent structure based on “Credits” for AI usage per user. Because Nova is model agnostic, usage depends on the complexity of the AI model you choose:
- Free Tier: Perfect for testing. Includes 20 credits (approx. 10 planograms per month, limited to Basic AI models).
- Lite ($800/yr): For small independent stores. Includes 100 credits (approx. 6–50 planograms/month).
- Pro ($2000/yr): For Category Managers. Includes 300 credits (approx. 18–140 planograms/month).
The Enterprise Advantage: Where We Stand Apart: Where DotActiv truly separates itself is in our Enterprise tiers. We don’t just sell you a tool; we equip your entire ecosystem.
- Enterprise ($4500/yr) Designed for Retail Teams, this tier provides 700 credits (approx. 40–330 planograms/month).
- Included Collaboration: Every license includes 2 DotActiv Viewer licenses at no extra cost.
- Included Image Recognition: If you hold 7 or more licenses, we include TrueView with Image Recognition (Image recognition for shelf compliance) completely free.
- Enterprise AI ($7500/yr) This is our flagship offering for Retail HQ and Batch Jobs, featuring a massive 4000 credits (approx. 230–1900 planograms/month).
- Maximum Collaboration: Every license includes 5 DotActiv Viewer licenses.
- Full TrueView Inclusion: If you purchase 4 or more licenses, we include the full TrueView and Image Recognition solution for planogram communication and compliance at store-level.
For those needing even more flexibility, the DotActiv Viewer is also available as a standalone license for just $300 – requires one or more licenses of DotActiv Enterprise or Enterprise AI. This way, no stakeholder is left behind.
Our Philosophy: Battle-Tested by Experts First
Finally, I want to address how we are delivering this. In the software world, there is often a rush to ship “beta” features that look good in a pitch deck but fail in practice.
At DotActiv, we operate differently. We are unique because we don’t just build software; we have an internal team of category planners who deliver end-to-end services for major clients globally.
Therefore, our release roadmap is deliberate:
- Internal Release: These new AI capabilities are currently being deployed to our internal service teams. They are being battle-tested by category planners, for category planners.
- Public Demos: We will begin demonstrating these capabilities publicly starting February 16th.
- Client Release: Once we are satisfied that these tools meet our rigorous standards, Nova and Lola will be released to our software clients at the end of March.
We don’t use our clients as guinea pigs. We use our own experts to ensure that when this software reaches your hands, it is polished, powerful, and ready to perform.
We look forward to showing you what Nova, Lola, and TrueView can do.
See Nova, Lola, and TrueView in action! Schedule a personal online demo starting February 16th.
