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Amazon says it'll roll out a new grocery store format next year
Amazon is wading further into the physical retail world as it confirmed plans to open a different type of grocery store in 2020. Reports earlier this year suggested Amazon was working on a low-cost grocery format as an alternative to Whole Foods and Amazon Go.
Caper's smart shopping cart uses AI to skip checkout lines
From cashierless Amazon Go stores to Walmart's self-driving vans for food drop-offs, tech is revolutionizing grocery shopping with an emphasis on speed and convenience. Now a lesser-known startup is entering the fray with its AI-powered shopping carts that could put an end to bothersome checkout lines at your local store.
Kroger and Microsoft are testing out two 'connected' grocery stores
Kroger and Microsoft have teamed up on a "connected store experience" that will provide customers with new ways to shop. The companies are piloting the experience at two Kroger stores -- one in Monroe, Ohio and another in Redmond, Washington -- and it represents the next step for their EDGE shelving system. Kroger and Microsoft announced EDGE, or Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment, last year, and it consists of digital shelving displays that can show pricing, promotions and nutritional information. With the pilot program, the companies are further incorporating EDGE into customers' shopping experience.
Kroger is the next grocery chain hoping to cut checkout lines
It's not just tech giants like Amazon or corporate behemoths like Walmart that are hoping to reduce the need for checkout lines. Kroger is expanding its Scan, Bag, Go self-checkout technology from a handful of stores in the Cincinnati area (which have been testing it for 5 years) to 400 stores in 2018. The system is mostlysimilar to Walmart's approach: you scan items as you add them to your cart throughout the store, letting you breeze through the self-checkout terminal once you've paid through your goods (in this case, at the terminal itself). It's not certain which stores will receive the tech, but an announcement is expected in early 2018.
Amazon's automated convenience stores edge closer to public debut
Last year, Amazon opened its first convenience store embedded with its "just walk out technology." Located in Seattle, the Amazon Go store, which lets shoppers walk in, load up on the items they want and walk out without having to pay for the items in a checkout line, has been testing its technology with Amazon employees. Now, as Bloomberg reports, the company has worked through some of the hangups with the technology and is making moves towards opening its store and others to the public.
ICYMI: Amazon wants to revolutionize grocery shopping
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: Amazon created a smart store in Seattle which is currently open to just employees but next year will open to all. It lets people saunter in, grab whatever they need, then leave without formally checking out. The trick is in using the Amazon Go app and all the sensors within the store, which track which items are placed in a basket and charges shoppers accordingly. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech created a 'TuneTable,' an interactive table with moving coaster-sized tiles people use to both program and then play music. If you're interested, the Guinness Book of World Records video for candles is here, and the behind-the-scenes video from Rogue One is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Formula 1 aerodynamics will make grocery stores more efficient
No, that's not a typo. It turns out Formula 1 racing technology, specifically aerodynamics, can help rid grocery stores of the so-called "cold aisle" issue. Using aerofoils that are designed to guide the direction of air flow around a race car, Williams F1's engineering department and UK start-up Aerofoil Engery aim to keep the cool temps inside the open refrigerators at the market. The aerofoils attach to each shelf, guiding the cold air so that not only is that section more comfy for shoppers, but energy use is reduced as well. In fact, Sainsbury's, the second largest grocery store chain in the UK, is already testing the tech. "This Formula 1 inspired innovation has already shown it can cut carbon produced by major refrigerators," said John Skelton, the retailer's head of refrigeration. The project is still in the testing phase, so if could be a while before its ready for widespread installation.
Philips' smart lighting tells you where to go in the grocery store
Ever spent ages wandering the grocery store while looking for a hard-to-find ingredient? If Philips brings its new connected retail lighting to your local supermarket, you may always know where to go. The technology uses light-based communication to create a positioning grid for your smartphone, telling you just what route you'll need to take to get everything for that recipe. Naturally, shopkeepers can also use the system for location-based discounts and suggestions; if you're looking for dessert ideas, the lights can point you to the pastry section. Philips is already testing its smart illumination with a handful of stores, so it might not be long before you're shopping with extreme efficiency.
Grocery stores use Apple's iBeacon to remind you what you're shopping for
Many of us will occasionally forget to pick up important ingredients when visiting the grocery store, but that absent-mindedness may not be a problem for much longer. A handful of Giant Eagle and Safeway locations are now using a new marketing service, InMarket's Mobile to Mortar, that relies on Apple's iBeacon to send proximity-based notifications while you're wandering the aisles. In addition to offering on-the-spot coupons and rewards, the system can remind you what's on your shopping list at just the right moment. It can also send an alert when someone adds to the list; if the family runs out of juice while you're in the store, you'll know to buy another jug before you reach the checkout line. Only certain Giant Eagle and Safeway outlets in Cleveland, San Francisco and Seattle are using Mobile to Mortar at launch, but InMarket promises more news in the months ahead.
Fulton Innovation blows our minds with eCoupled wireless Tesla, inductive cereal boxes (video)
Wondering what your future kitchen looks like? Take a gander at what Fulton Innovation is showing at CES this year. They're also giving a peek at the future of retail shopping, and even parking lots. It's all the magic of inductive charging, and now that the Qi standard has been finalized it seems like things are coming together. Really together, in everything from cereal boxes with blinkenlights to Tesla Roadsters that charge almost as quickly as with a wire but, quite obviously, without the wire. Would you like to know more? Click on through. %Gallery-113129%
Caption contest: Google Checkout finally finds a home
Reader Milad sends in this picture of a Lebanese grocery store suffering from a little branding envy.Nilay: "This is not what we expected by "'innovative windowing system.'"Chris: "Oh, so this is what Orkut is."Ross: "Interestingly, the produce section has a sale on blackberries."Darren: "And you thought Google Groceries was a belated April Fool's prank."Paul: "Our VeggieRank was suspiciously low."Thomas H.: "I'm Feeling Lucky doesn't work so well with produce."Josh F.: "No, really. It's pronounced 'Goo-Glay.' It's French."Richard: "Unfortunately, AisleView is not available in the scones, tea and treacle section."Ross R.: "Our carrots put the beta in their Beta-carotene."Thomas R.: "Do you sell Bing?"
German "Future Store" lets you grocery shop with your cellphone
It's been a long, long time since we've heard from Germany's "Future Store" -- the ultra-futuristic German grocery store that might have sprung directly from the Sprawl trilogy -- but they've got a new feature we thought you might be interested in. Shoppers in the store can now use camera-equipped cellphones (i.e., cellphones) to snap pictures of item barcodes, and then download the information at the checkout when they're finished shopping. The system totals all of your purchases into one big, nasty barcode which you then scan and pony up cash (or cards, or fingerprints, or magical rainbow juice) for. It's unclear how to store handles shoppers who don't scan everything they've got in their cart, but if it's anything like our favorite books, it's not pretty.[Via PHONE Magazine]
