Walk in, pick, walk out. Frictionless shopping is fast gaining traction around the world and Israel is the latest country to introduce the technology to shoppers who never need to queue to make any payments.
The country’s largest supermarket chain, Shufersal, has just opened the country’s first autonomous grocery store.
It is using technology developed by Trigo, the same Israeli start-up that is already supplying frictionless or hybrid cashierless stores for Tesco in the UK, REWE, Aldi NORD, and Netto in Germany, and Wakefern in the United States.
Experts reckon the AI-driven movement is gaining so much traction as it responds to shoppers who want convenience and personalisation on the one hand and supermarkets who need to keep costs down and optimise inventory and supply chain management on the other.
Of course, Amazon is also driving up hype with its much talked about Just Walk Out Fresh and Go grocery formats.
In a press statement sent out this week, Shufersal says Israel’s booming grocery retail market is driven by strong demand from a growing population of some 9 million consumers and a resilient local economy. This means the industry is highly competitive, though, and margins are razor thin.
Located near Tel Aviv’s busy beachfront, Shufersal’s new 1 080 square foot Shop&Go convenience store uses AI-powered computer vision and off-the-shelf hardware.
Trigo’s proprietary algorithms then kick in through ceiling-mounted cameras which automatically learn and upload shoppers’ movements and product choices.
Good for business
“The strategic partnership with Trigo will allow our customers the next generation of the autonomous shopping experience for the first time in Israel,” says Shay Vardi, Shufersal Group chief technology officer.
Michael Gabay, Trigo co-founder and CEO, is particularly pleased with this development in his own country. “Shufersal was the first company to believe in our vision and played a key role in the evolution of our product,” he says.
“The new store is globally unique as it packs in more goods per square foot than any other Trigo-powered store. This gives Shufersal’s customers an autonomous shopping experience that has never been seen in Israel.”
And the next frontier for supermarkets? Even more efficiency.
Does it seem impossible? Not so much if you consider gains like predictive inventory management, pricing optimisation, security and fraud prevention, planogram compliance, and event-specific marketing … all driven by artificial intelligence.
ALSO READ: AI shops: Step into a bizarre cashier-less world
Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain.
