Supermarket Perimeter - November 2021 - 20

Kroger
is designing
grocery stores with autonomous capabilities. The company applies its
algorithms to ceiling-mounted cameras which learn and upload data
on shoppers' movements and product choices, enabling customers to
simply walk into a store, pick up their desired items, and walk out
without stopping at the checkout.
Tesco, a leading European grocer, has been working on
bundled product
offerings ideal for
meeting customer
needs within the
current weight
limits for drone
delivery.
Taking automation all the way to the curb
As online orders continue to come pouring in, a number of
US grocery retailers are turning to robots to help with the delivery
process.
Keasby, NJ-based ShopRite (a banner owned by Wakefern Corp.)
enables retail workers to scan unsold products nearing expiration and
identify whether they can be donated to charity, repurposed for further
commercial use or recycled.
" Grocers have a very careful balance to strike when it comes
to providing the best customer experience while optimizing their
operations through automation, " said Lukas Kinigadner, CEO and cofounder
of Anyline. " Customer expectations have transformed over
the past 18 months of the pandemic. Having the right tools in hand
- such as smart devices - will enable them to provide a higher level of
customer service than before. "
Instant checkout platforms that skip instore lines
More and more instant checkout solutions are hitting the market that
allow customers to skip the checkout line and self-checkout all together.
Most recently, Tel Aviv-based WalkOut introduced a device that can
be retrofitted onto any shopping cart, utilizing AI, machine learning,
edge computing, and high-precision cameras to identify each item
placed into or removed from the cart.
Instead of utilizing weight sensors that require legal-for-trade
certification, as well as constant recalibration, WalkOut uses machine
learning and computer vision technology. The mountable cart
device's multiple high-precision cameras, which utilize many different
proprietary algorithms to accurately recognize products, identify the
items as shoppers load or remove them with 99.2% accuracy, according
to the company.
Through a large touchscreen, the device also communicates with
the customer to offer personalized recommendations, store navigation,
supplementary product information, and relevant promotions based on
the shopper's history and location in the store.
Earlier this year, Google Cloud added Tel Aviv-based Trigo to its
partnership ecosystem with AI-powered solutions for autonomous
shopping. Teams from both companies will partner to help retail
businesses accelerate their digital transformations with AI-powered
autonomous stores.
Trigo's privacy-by-design solution uses AI-powered computer vision
technologies together with off-the-shelf hardware to retrofit existing
20 - NOVEMBER 2021
is currently testing robotic delivery at two stores under a partnership
with Tortoise.
The company's remote-controlled, robotic carts are designed to
meet growing consumer demand for faster home delivery.
With an average speed of three miles per hour, the remote-controlled,
zero-emissions carts typically travel on sidewalks or the side of the road
and are teleoperated by trained remote drivers. The delivery cart can
hold up to 150 pounds in four lockable containers that support ambient,
chilled and frozen groceries.
ShopRite customers are alerted to the arrival of the order via a text
message that can also be used to unlock the cart to unload groceries.
" Wakefern is our first customer on the east coast to use this
innovative delivery system and we believe shoppers will love the
convenience Tortoise offers, " said Dmitry Shevelenko, co-founder of
Tortoise. " Our electric cart allows ShopRite associates to focus less on
the delivery of products and more on helping customers to improve the
shopping experience. "
In May, The Kroger Co. and Drone Express unveiled a pilot
partnership to offer grocery delivery via autonomous drones.
" Kroger's new drone delivery pilot is part of the evolution of our
rapidly growing and innovative e-commerce business - which includes
pickup, delivery, and ship - and reached more than $10 billion in
sales in 2020, " said Kroger's Jody Kalmbach, group vice president of
product experience. " The pilot reinforces the importance of flexibility
and immediacy to customers, powered by modern, cost-effective, and
efficient last-mile solutions. We're excited to test drone delivery and gain
insights that will inform expansion plans as well as future customer
solutions. "
The pilot will offer customers flexibility as Drone Express technology
allows package delivery to the location of a customer's smartphone,
not only to a street address, meaning customers will be able to order
delivery of picnic supplies to a park, sunscreen to the beach, or
condiments to a backyard cookout, according to the company.
Kroger is designing bundled product offerings ideal for meeting
customer needs within the current weight limits for drone delivery,
which is about five pounds.
Using Kroger.com/DroneDelivery, customers can place orders and
have eligible orders delivered within as little as 15 minutes.
supermarketperimeter.com
a trial with Trigo. Trigo uses Google Cloud for part of the
solution it provides Tesco. The company is also working
with REWE, Germany's second-largest grocery chain, on a
cashier-less checkout store.
THE KROGER CO.
http://www.Kroger.com/DroneDelivery http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - November 2021

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