CONVENIENCE: Customers must check in with an app before they check out without using a checkout
US convenience store giant Circle K has installed cashierless shopping technology in one of its outlets in the US, enabling customers to walk in, select the products they wish to purchase and pay for them via the retailer’s app without needing to use a checkout.
The store in Phoenix’s Tempe district is the first Circle K outlet to add support for cashierless shopping and the retailer now plans to introduce “a fully frictionless experience to several existing Arizona stores” as it trials different checkout-free solutions.
“Inside the [Tempe] store, a network of cameras is mounted at strategic locations to accurately associate customers with the products they pick up, working with the store’s existing layout, fixtures, lighting, inventory management systems and visual merchandising plans,” Circle K explains.
“Customers’ purchases are recorded on the Circle K mobile app, eliminating time spent at traditional checkout areas.
“In the coming weeks, more retrofitted Circle K locations will roll out in Arizona as the company explores different fully autonomous checkout solutions.
“Moving forward, the company will monitor and evaluate lessons learned from these frictionless technologies and experiences, both from customer and team member feedback, as it progresses in its innovation work and network deployment.”
The Circle K outlet in Tempe leverages autonomous checkout technology developed by Standard AI.
A short video shows how the technology provider’s system works. Circle K announced it was adding support for cashierless shopping at outlets in Arizona in August 2020.
Circle K adds checkout-free shopping at US convenience stores was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.