An automated convenience store is a convenience store that operates without a cashier, and instead relies on computers and robotics.
An automated convenience store is a convenience store that operates without a cashier, and instead relies on computers and robotics.
Robomart has created an autonomous grocery store on wheels that offers consumers the ability to pick their own groceries at home checkout-free. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Shop24 operates 170 automated convenience stores in nine European countries and 7 in the United States. An average store costs $90,000. [12] [13]
In 1986, after entrepreneur Mike Rivalto's wife came home irritated and frustrated due to the long checkout line in the convenience store, Rivalto conceived the SmartMart, an automated convenience store. After seven years of research and development, the concept was ready to become a reality when technology caught up to the idea in the mid-1990s. In 2003, the first proof of concept store was opened at a location in East Memphis. [14] [15] In 2011, after the store did more than 1.4 million transactions in eight years, it was replaced by SmartMart's latest technology. At SmartMart, a consumer can drive in or walk up to a computer touch screen and select from up to 1,800 products available. The machine accepts payments by cash, credit or debit card and delivers purchased items through a drawer. Development of the SmartMart including gas pumps costs approximately $100,000 more than a 3,000 square foot convenience store, but the labor savings are substantial as a single control center worker can operate the entire business. [16] In 2009, deputies accused SmartMart of selling a 24-ounce can of beer to an underage buyer. [17]
A convenience store, bodega, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, fruits, vegetables, snacks, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery tickets, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers and magazines. In some jurisdictions, convenience stores are licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, although many jurisdictions limit such beverages to those with relatively low alcohol content, like beer and wine. The stores may also offer money order and wire transfer services, along with the use of a fax machine or photocopier for a small per-copy cost. Some also sell tickets or recharge smart cards, e.g. OPUS cards in Montreal or include a small deli. They differ from general stores and village shops in that they are not in a rural location and are used as a convenient supplement to larger stores.
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limited in the range of merchandise than a hypermarket or big-box market. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is often used to mean "supermarket".
A shopping cart, trolley, or buggy, also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especially supermarkets, for use by customers inside the premises for transport of merchandise as they move around the premises, while shopping, prior to heading to the checkout counter, cashiers or tills. Increasing the amount of goods a shopper can collect increases the quantities they are likely to purchase in a single trip, boosting store profitability.
A grocery store (AE), grocery shop (BE) or simply grocery is a foodservice retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, and is not used to refer to other types of stores that sell groceries. In the UK, shops that sell food are distinguished as grocers or grocery shops.
Clarence Saunders was an American grocer who first developed the modern retail sales model of self service. His ideas have had a massive influence on the development of the modern supermarket. Saunders worked for most of his life trying to develop a truly automated store, developing Piggly Wiggly, Keedoozle, and Foodelectric store concepts.
Bagger, packer, sacker or bag boy (US) is an unofficial title given to a courtesy clerk at a grocery store.
A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors, wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence, off-sale, bottle shop, bottle store or, colloquially, bottle-o, liquor store or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.
A warehouse store or warehouse supermarket is a food and grocery retailer that operates stores geared toward offering deeper discounted prices than a traditional supermarket. These stores offer a no-frills experience and warehouse shelving stocked well with merchandise intended to move at higher volumes. Unlike warehouse clubs, warehouse stores do not require a membership or membership fees. Warehouse stores can also offer a selection of merchandise sold in bulk. Typically, warehouse stores are laid out in a logical format; this leads customers in a certain way around the store to the checkout. For example, as one enters the store they are directed down an aisle of discounted products. From there the layout could then lead to the fresh produce department, followed by the deli and bakery departments at the back of the store. Often, certain customer service niceties, like the bagging of groceries, are not done by store employees; this helps reduce overall cost. Many warehouse stores are operated by traditional grocery chains both as a way to attract lower income, value conscious consumers and to maximize their buying power in order to lower costs at their mainstream stores.
A smartstore is a brick-and-mortar retail establishment using smart technologies like smart shelves, smart carts, or smart cards. Smartstores usually deliver their services via the Web, smart phone apps, and augmented reality applications in real stores.
Keedoozle was the first fully automated grocery store in the United States, a vending machine concept developed by grocer Clarence Saunders in 1937. It is often held that the name "Keedoozle" was coined by Saunders to refer to the technology used, in which a "Key Does All" for the grocery shopper, but another interview with Saunders appears to contradict this.
Micro Markets constitute a retail sector closely associated with the vending machine industry. They employ automated self-checkout technology and are commonly found in locations requiring unattended payment systems. Micro Markets offer grab-and-go retail environments where customers can purchase products from open shelves, coolers, and freezers. Consumers use self-checkout kiosks for a streamlined experience. They are a hybrid of vending, foodservice, coffee service, and convenience stores, designed to enhance customer experience and product variety while optimizing labor costs and operational efficiency. The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) recognizes Micro Markets as a significant focus channel, along with vending, foodservice, and refreshment services.
Easy-Way Store is a defunct family-owned grocery chain in the Memphis area of Tennessee, United States.
Automated retail is the category of self-service, standalone kiosks that operate as fully automatic retail stores through the use of software integrations to replace the traditional retail services inside in a traditional retail store. These standalone kiosks are often located in heavily trafficked locations such as airports, malls, resorts and transit hubs.
Amazon Go is a chain of convenience stores in the United States and the United Kingdom, operated by the online retailer Amazon. The stores are cashierless, thus partially automated, with customers able to purchase products without being checked out by a cashier or using a self-checkout station. As of 2023, there are 43 open and announced store locations in Seattle, Chicago, London and New York City.
Gopuff is an American consumer goods and food delivery company headquartered in Philadelphia. The company operates in more than 650 US cities through approximately 500 microfulfillment centers as of October 2021. It also operates in the United Kingdom, following a takeover of Newcastle upon Tyne-based Fancy. As of July 2021, the company was valued at $15 billion.
PC Express is a grocery click and collect & delivery service owned by Canadian retail conglomerate Loblaw Companies. The service began in October 2014 and the company now has over 700 pickup locations and delivers to ~70% of Canadian households. These locations include curbside pickup, self-serve kiosks, refrigerated vans, and Shoppers Drug Mart locations in urban areas. The Loblaw Companies banners participating in PC Express are Atlantic Superstore, Dominion, Fortinos, Loblaws, Maxi, No Frills, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore, Valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer and Zehrs Markets. A service fee of $3 to $5 is added to each order, unless a customer has a PC Express Pass subscription. Delivery is provided by Instacart contractors. A rapid delivery option with marked up item costs is also available, which uses DoorDash Dashers to pick and deliver each order.
Robomart is an American technology company and store-hailing platform headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company has deployed automated stores on wheels that can be hailed to a customer's home. Instead of delivering products the company delivers the entire store which cuts out order and pickup times giving it advantages over delivery.
Hum Mart was a Pakistani online store operated by Hum Network. It became defunct in 2020.
The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.
Caper is a software technology company that develops and deploys AI-powered automated checkout devices as well as AI-based software applications for retailers, grocers, convenience stores and other general merchandising store formats. Caper AI was established in 2016 by Lindon Gao, York Yang, Yilin Huang and Ahmed Beshry. It is headquartered in Manhattan, NY.