Supermarket innovation in Germany
3-in-1: 3 digital news in 1 minute. On Monday. Episode 257
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News 1: E24/7, a big walk-in vending machine
E24/7 is an automated 24/7 pick-up store located at a train station in Renningen, close to Stuttgart. Launched in February 2021 with an investment of around €500,000, E24/7 is a project of Edeka and Deutsche Bahn with technology from Smark. Consumers can order via an app or in-store on a touchscreen and collect their orders from a pick-up box. The store features around 500 products with a focus on convenience and drug store products — fresh fruits and vegetables are underrepresented. Opinion for B2B: Small bugs did occur during SLI’s storecheck but the overall experience was great. The around the clock availability is the most valuable aspect for consumers, particularly on Sundays when grocery stores are closed in Germany.
Looking forward to see more of these walk-in vending machines enabling 24/7 grocery shopping!
News 2: Wanzl and Edeka test coinless shopping carts
Another test from Edeka close to Stuttgart happens in the small town Salach. Here the German hidden champion and world market leader in shopping trolleys, Wanzl, tests trolleys which can be unlocked via app utilizing NFC and buetooth technology. According to Wanzl the technology is already market ready. However, implementation costs are very high. Opinion for B2B: Due to high costs it is unlikely that we will see this technology scaling up in the near future. Still for supermarkets this technology is interesting because it can help improve their interaction with customers. Implementing it could incentivize customers to download and use their dedicated app.
Imagine a shopping experience which is finally truly cashless — a dream!
News 3: Rewe “Pick & Go” — first “just walk out” store in Germany
Since May 2021 Rewe has been testing “Pick & Go”, a “just walk out” store concept (like Amazon Go), in the city center of Cologne.
The AI-powered computer vision detects the products customers are taking — no checkout is needed. For the technical implementation Rewe invested into and partners with Trigo Vision, a Tel Aviv based startup. “Pick & Go” is announced to be open to public later this summer. Opinion for B2B: Rewe will be the first company to launch a just walkout store to the public in Germany. The concept offers many operational benefits such as lower labor cost and more effective use of space. On the other hand it reduces the time of customers in the store potentially leading to fewer impulse purchases.
Overall, great concept which we will hopefully see open to public very soon!
Author is the research team (10 trend scouters) at specialist Space and Lemon (Hamburg, Berlin) — scouting in main tech geographies, in AI development, virtual worlds and e-commerce. Excerpts of research are gathered here in original weekly news since 2016, always with a professional opinion — no re-write of TechCrunch. Research time: June 2021.
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