Both Walmart and Kroger have introduced new tech developments into their stores. From buying groceries online to developing apps to give customers discounts, retail stores are jumping on the e-commerce train to provide digital services. Some of the apps allow for customers to get cash back on certain products, such as Walmart’s receipt scanner and its new Walmart pay app to help customers get through the store quicker.
A recent survey by Coresight shows that both Walmart and Kroger are leading the way in the digitalization of retail grocery stores, offering customers many options to purchase goods and services.
One of the major retail automated devices that have hit stores in the past 10 years includes self checkout. According to the Market Report, the forecast for Global Self-Checkout Systems is projected to grow from $3.7 billion to $6.5 billion by 2024 — a 10 percent growth. With this automation, customers tend to get through stores quicker when they have fewer items. Coresight’s report suggests self-scan and autonomous checkouts are gaining traction, giving customers the option to skip the checkout lines and helping retailers save on labor costs.
While some believe self-checkout systems take jobs, the Market Report suggests that it helps solves some issues with labor shortage. “Self-checkout systems solve the problem of labor shortage, offering services of scanning the product and providing details of the product with its price, automatically,” Market report suggests. “Self-checkout system is a multi-billion market and is poised to grow at a high rate, on account of factors such as need to enhance customer experience, reduce waiting time at retail supermarket chains and low-operational cost of self-checkout systems.”
Walmart and Kroger are also implementing another technological advance of Scan & Go, which allows customers to scan barcodes and pay through a smartphone app instead of going through the checkout.
Walmart also recently launched an online grocery delivery and shopping, one-day delivery and a pickup and drop off service through Waymo. This service uses self-driving vehicles to deliver groceries in select areas. Kroger is following close behind by using self-driving vehicles through Nuro.
According to Progressive Grocer, many customers can expect more changes in the coming years to traditional grocery shopping as the labor market tightens. More self-checkouts and cashierless shopping will occur, such as in the Amazon Go store in which customers pay through an app and don’t have to even visit a register.
“The chain uses “just walk out” technology, which employs computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning to automatically detect when products are removed from, or placed back on, shelves,” Progressive Grocer wrote. “Shoppers scan in via a dedicated app, just walk out upon taking everything they wish to buy, and then receive a digital receipt afterward.”
Many more tech advances should take place as the retail market becomes more digitized and people want more e-commerce driven transactions.
