ALDI Shop & Go is open for business in Utrecht, the Netherlands. This unique innovation allows for shopping with no cash registers or scanning devices, made possible thanks to an artificial intelligence system. Intelligent cameras in the ceiling and sensors on the shelves detect when shoppers move products. This store serves as a test site where the new technology can be optimized for customers and employees.
How does it work?
Shoppers have to have the ALDI Shop & Go app. They can put their groceries straight into bags while shopping and no longer have to go to the checkout or bother with self-scanning. Your credit card is linked to the app, so products are automatically paid for when you leave the store. The store does have staff: stocking shelves, baking fresh bread and answering customer questions.
Simple shopping
Over the past few months, several shopping sessions were held where ALDI personnel got to test the self-learning system. The opening of the test store heralds a new phase. Now the general public, too, can experience this new way of shopping, and the system continues optimizing itself.
Jan Oostvogels, CEO of ALDI Holding B.V. in the Netherlands, says, "We're enormously proud that we can test this wonderful innovation project with our customers in Utrecht. It fits within our strategy as a discounter to enable people to do their shopping as conveniently as possible. We brainstorm with our shoppers about ways to make shopping even more pleasant. Research shows that our customers appreciate fast, simple checkout processes. This test store fits perfectly with this."
Technology
Trigo Vision Ltd. developed the system. It uses intelligent cameras and sensors. This advanced technology tracks only the movements shoppers and items make. It does not use facial recognition, eye or fingerprint, or other biometric feature scans.
The store in located at 2R Lange Vie Street in Utrecht.