Everyone loves a good teaser. The suspense and allowance for the imagination can amplify the experience and—more importantly—make the one bringing that experience more memorable.
Wakefern Food Corp. seems to know this as it pilots a new autonomous convenience shop for associates to test at its company offices in Edison, New Jersey—an innovative new shopping format consumers aren’t getting their hands on just yet.
“Our Wakefern associates can shop The Pantry at work for groceries they need at home while simultaneously providing helpful feedback for us on the technology. The chance to evolve in the self-service space at retail is important and we hope to learn more about frictionless checkout and how we can potentially provide this cutting-edge and convenient technology to Wakefern member-owned businesses,” said Charles McWeeney, Vice President of Technology, Innovation, and Strategy at Wakefern.
The Pantry is the result of a cutting-edge partnership with Israel-based startup Trigo Vision, through which the duo cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art convenience shop that uses AI-based technology to let Wakefern associates shop and check out themselves.
The digital store uses Trigo computer vision with a series of cameras and shelf sensors that identify products selected by associates, according to a press release, allowing shoppers to move through the store seamlessly and independently.
"Trigo is proud to work with some of the largest grocery retailers in the world, so teaming up now with Wakefern to deploy and test important technology is a natural step," said Michael Gabay, Trigo's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We can help them accelerate their growth within the market and pave the way for frictionless shopping in the future."
Serving as a learning environment as Wakefern explores Trigo technology for potential future use, The Pantry is currently open only to associates from Wakefern office buildings, but will we see this high-tech new store format soon expanded into consumer markets?
Stick with Deli Market News to find out.
