Smart stores: no revolution without risk

Convenient shopping experiences are definitely a competitive advantage for retailers. One concept that retailers are using to appeal to their customers is autonomous shops, known as smart stores.

As a result, more and more retailers are testing or piloting smart stores that enable fast and smooth checkout without having to queue at the checkout or scan the items themselves. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision and sensors are revolutionising previous shopping processes in grocery shops, convenience stores and petrol station shops.

Smart stores offer customers an autonomous shopping experience, allowing them to stock up on essentials day and night in just a few minutes. For example, at train stations or in city centres.

This technology not only allows retailers to operate their shops even when there is a shortage of staff or to offer more flexible opening hours in hybrid stores. By monitoring and using networked devices, they can also optimise retail processes and gain valuable insights into them.

However, there are also critical opinions on these autonomous shops. After all, large investments in technology are required to set up a smart store or convert an existing shop. Ready-made container or vending machine stores are intended to make this concept more affordable. In addition, many retailers are sceptical as to whether the quality of the image recognition is reliable enough to prevent incorrect bookings and theft.

And not everyone on the customer side is convinced by smart stores either: some have concerns about increasing surveillance and data protection. Others are not prepared to create a new customer account or even install a separate app for each smart store.

Mail-order retailer Amazon was one of the pioneers of smart store technology with its just-walk-out concept. The cashierless stores initially generated huge hype among visitors and in the media. Recently, however, there has been a turnaround in reporting: Following an Amazon press release in April 2024, in which the company announced that it would be replacing just-walk-out technology in larger supermarkets with Amazon Dash Carts, connected shopping trolleys, many are now wondering what the future holds for unmanned store concepts. According to Amazon, customers in smaller shops with micro assortments appreciate the Just Walk Out technology for a quick shopping experience, while in larger supermarkets they prefer the Dash Cart, which shows them prices in real time on a screen while they shop.

The debate is fuelled by media reports of around 1,000 employees in countries such as India who would manually check product recognition, allegedly at a rate of 70 percent of sales. Amazon denies this: The deployment of employees is primarily about further optimising the AI systems, the company claims.

So what's next for autonomous shops in the retail sector? Amazon is by no means the only developer and provider of such smart store technologies. Plus, many large retail companies as well as smaller retailers are trialling concepts for cashierless shops.

With BuyBye, Carrefour wants to offer a practical solution for daily last-minute shopping. It is a stand-alone micro-store consisting mainly of fridges. Customers can stock up on chilled ready meals, snacks, cold drinks, fruit and other convenience items for their lunch break, for example.

According to the company, the Carrefour BuyBye store in Zaventem near Brussels works 100 per cent with artificial intelligence and combines product scales and computer vision. Strategically placed cameras on each shelf are intended to ensure double checking and maximum billing accuracy. The project was realised in collaboration with the start-up Reckon AI from Portugal.

At a new "Pick&Go" shop in Regensburg, Netto Marken-Discount is implementing an autonomous shopping experience. With the help of intelligent and connected technology from Trigo Vision Ltd. in ceilings and shelves, customised shopping baskets are created in real time. The invoice amount is displayed at the fast-exit terminal, where customers receive their receipt before paying.

In addition, the technology developed jointly with METTLER TOLEDO enables fruit and vegetable products to be weighed automatically when they are removed and transferred to the till receipt: The price and exact weight of the selected items are shown directly on the digital display on the respective product shelf.

Customers can pay by card, ApplePay, GooglePay or the Netto app. Neither prior registration nor the Netto app or the use of a smartphone is required to shop in the Pick&Go store. This significantly lowers the hurdles for cashierless shopping.

Smart stores are regarded as the pinnacle of innovation in brick-and-mortar retail, fundamentally revolutionising shopping through the use of cutting-edge technologies. As is so often the case with technological developments, they are not linear. Factors such as customer acceptance and shopping behaviour, the cost of implementation, the reliability of the technologies and the legal framework all play a decisive role. The success of new retail concepts can often only be assessed in the long term, but smart store technologies represent a further development in any case.

Sources: Press release Amazon, USA Today, gondola News, Press release Netto