InContext Partners with University to Empower Food Marketing Students with Virtual Store Software for Evidence-Based Recommendations

Chicago, IL — InContext, the leader in simulation software for top brands and retailers, has partnered with Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to provide virtual retail solutions for students within the school’s Department of Food, Pharma and Healthcare.

The partnership enables students to work with realistic retail environments, analyze anticipated shopper behaviors, test hypotheses, and make evidence-based recommendations. Classes will leverage InContext’s immersive retail software to learn and experience how data, technology, shopper behavior, merchandising, and managerial decision-making all connect.

“InContext is thrilled to join together with SJU to give students a hands-on experience that integrates leading-edge merchandising solutions into their curriculum,” said Rich Scamehorn, InContext Co-Founder and Chief Data Officer. “We are excited to share our tools such as Arrangement AI, which enables them to experience real-world situations they will face in the workforce as they learn how data-driven approaches can improve decision-making.”

InContext and Saint Joseph’s will work in tandem to provide valuable exercises that educate and prepare students as they head into the workforce and into the fast-moving world of retail merchandising.

“Students learn differently when they can see the consequences of their decisions, and InContext’s retail software allows them to experiment with their retail concepts in a risk-free space,” said Michael Marzano, Assistant Professor of Practice at Saint Joseph’s. “Instead of telling students that changing a shelf arrangement might influence shopper behavior, they can test that hypothesis in a realistic virtual environment and see how shopper behavior responds. That makes concepts like analytics, experimentation, AI, and decision-making tangible in a way that textbook exercises cannot.”

Founded in 2009, InContext provides a unique, in-depth perspective on what consumers see on the shelf, how this drives their purchase behavior, and why. Virtual gives teams confidence in their ideas so they can create winning in-store strategies, all through VR, AR, and AI technology.

About InContext

InContext is reinventing the shopping experience with leading-edge virtual store technology and insights. ShopperMX, a virtual visualization platform for collaboration, shopper insights and sales enablement, allows retail teams to visualize first in a digital twin of the store to maximize ROI. Arrangement AI is a predictive and prescriptive model for forecasting the sales behavior impact for arrangement changes.

About Saint Joseph’s University

Founded in 1851 as Philadelphia’s Jesuit university, Saint Joseph’s University prepares students for a rapidly changing world by focusing on academic excellence and courageous exploration. With an intellectual tradition distinguished by a foundational liberal arts core and diversified by strong professional programs in business, nursing, health and science, and education, Saint Joseph’s students are empowered, challenged and supported by high-quality faculty members to follow their own path.

As a comprehensive university with locations in Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, undergraduate and graduate students study in the University’s five schools and colleges — the College of Arts and Sciences, the Erivan K. Haub School of Business, the School of Education and Human Development, the School of Health Professions and the School of Nursing and Allied Health. With academic offerings in the most sought-after majors, including leading programs in the first-in-the-nation Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, a Saint Joseph’s education is enriched through the University’s network of cooperative education employers, clinical placements and professional internships. Outside of the classroom, the University’s Division I student-athletes compete at the highest levels in 21 different sports. Upon graduation, nearly 100% of students are employed, pursuing advanced degrees or volunteering in prestigious service programs. The University’s network of more than 110,000 proud alumni keep alive the rallying cry — The Hawk Will Never Die.