French Retail Giant Debuts Autonomous Grocery Store
Auchan Retail, a multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France, has launched an autonomous grocery store for its head office employees.
Auchan partnered with Trigo, an Israel-based computer vision company that builds infrastructure for cashier-less checkout and retail analytics, to power the retailer’s new "Go" store.
In what Trigo calls a first for both companies, Auchan’s Go store offers a tap-and-go experience where shoppers can tap their credit or debit card on the entrance gate, according to a media release. Prior to this launch, Trigo-powered stores would require shoppers to download a retailer’s app or scan a QR code to enter one of its autonomous stores.
Trigo's frictionless checkout and retail analytics solutions are currently deployed by grocery store chains such as Tesco in the U.K., REWE and Netto in Germany, Aldi Nord in The Netherlands, Wakefern Food Corp. in the U.S., and Shufersal in Israel. Now, the computer vision company enters France for the first time with the Auchan store launch.
Auchan Retail, which employs over 160,000 people, has a presence in 13 countries, and spans all food retail formats (i.e., hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, drive-throughs and digital) with 2,101 points-of-sale, according to the release.
Auchan’s Go store, located at the company’s headquarters in France’s Villeneuve d'Ascq commune, aims to provide a seamless and efficient shopping experience for all head office teams and their visitors.
The store offers a wide range of products, including snacking and convenience shopping options, as well as fresh products such as meat, fruits and vegetables. It leverages Trigo's EasyOut system of cameras and sensors, which allows customers to enter the store using a dedicated app or a credit card.
Inside the store, Trigo's proprietary 3D engine, designed specifically for retail settings, uses computer vision cameras and shelf sensors to automatically detect and tally the products picked up by customers, per the release. Upon leaving, payment is processed instantly, and the receipt is digital.
In addition, Trigo’s EasyStock, an AI-powered real-time inventory management system, crunches data generated by the EasyOut system, enables the retailer to track inventory, minimize out-of-stock items for in-store and online shopping, limit shoplifting and reduce waste from perishable and expired products. EasyStock is currently tracking live inventory status in multiple stores across Europe and the U.S.
Auchan sees its Go store as a “true innovation lab,” and hopes to make it an integrated laboratory for technological innovations, testing shopping experiences, contactless solutions and new products before considering different deployments in its existing network, according to the release.
"We gathered the best new technology in a condensed version of our hypermarket,” said Emilie Soleri, deputy CEO in charge of marketing, e-commerce and digital at Auchan Retail France. “This lab is strategically located in our headquarter so that we accelerate in creating the future of retail."
Additionally, Trigo says its GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)-compliant solution is built with a “privacy-by-design architecture” to ensure that customers' movements and product choices are anonymized, and no biometric or facial recognition data are gathered or analyzed.
As labor shortages, inflation and supply chain disruptions squeeze profits, many grocers are turning to computer vision technology to digitize their stores and supply chains to gather valuable data and optimize the in-store experience.
