Checkout-Free Shopping is Happening in the Heartland
High-quality sensor hardware tracks every item in the convenience store as you shop
There have been a number of stories and takes on how Amazon is disrupting delivery and the grocery industry over the last few years, especially after the behemoth acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017 and the emergence of physical Amazon Go stores where customers can take what they need and leave. According to a Forbes article, the Amazon Go hardware for each store cost around $1 million — a cost that may make sense in the Bay Area but can’t possibly be recouped in lower traffic markets.
So what does the checkout-free shopping future look like for the thousands of existing grocery and convenience stores across the country and around the world?
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit one of Giant Eagle’s first checkout-free convenience store locations at a GetGo Cafe+Market in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh.
GetGo uses Grabango, an app that shoppers can download in order to pay for their items without waiting in line. But it’s not just a digital payment system like the ones you see in many retail stores these days. Grabango’s technology doesn’t require a new store to be built for it to work. Instead, the technology can be incorporated into existing stores.
Grabango’s system uses high-quality sensor hardware and high-precision computer algorithms to acquire and retain the location of every item in the store. The sensors are lightweight and are easy to install without interrupting the store’s activity. You can see the tech in the picture below.
When I arrived at the store, I took out my phone and downloaded the Grabango app for free. I plugged in my credit card information and then began walking through the store. As I was going down the aisles, I simply grabbed what I wanted. It was a strange feeling: was the app smart enough to know what I had grabbed?
I tried different methods of taking items off the shelves, sometimes only grabbing one item, other times multiple. I picked up things that were displayed in different ways: a bag of chips, a pack of gum, an iPhone charger, a mask, and a bottle of water. When I finished shopping, I went to where the checkout would normally be. I scanned the barcode on my phone with a small Grabango reader and boom, a receipt was emailed to me and I was on my way. Too easy. The service and barcode had seamlessly accounted for every item I had picked up along the way.
This moment was noteworthy for me because our firm, Heartland Ventures, invested in Grabango over a year ago as they were making their vision a reality. But, more importantly as a consumer, it was incredible to experience something so groundbreaking, but also so normal and personal at the same time. I’m convinced that checkout-free shopping will become more standard across the country in the coming years as more of the “convenience” and ease of shopping (and not waiting) becomes paramount to retailers and customers alike.
Companies like Grabango will increase loyalty for retailers and help streamline operations; in the era of COVID-19 and beyond, this will help both employers and customers stay safe. It will allow customers to optimize the use of coupons, discounts, and rewards programs, as this can be built into the app. The retailers will also see significant benefits as it will help to increase sales, improve the shoppers’ experience, and improve inventory management to reduce unnecessary waste.
Looking back on my experience at the GetGo in Fox Chapel, I can’t help but think about how the value to me as a consumer was clear and obvious and the business impact to the retailer is significant. Perhaps this was my first glimpse into the future of all retail shopping.
