Sep 20 2022

Improving the Checkout process with Automatization

Artificial Intelligence is used across all industries, but it is being particularly prevalent in retail during the checkout process.

The rising demand for automatization is driving innovation along the agrifood value chain. Statistically, people spend about 60 hours annually waiting in checkout lines.

The Just Walk Out system

Supermarkets are in the midst of a digital transition, investing large amounts of money in the design of online stores, but without forgetting to adapt their physical stores to the needs of an increasingly digitized consumer. The truth is that the emergence of supermarkets without checkouts opens a path of possibilities that brands will explore in the coming years.

Automated checkouts enhance customer experiences by eliminating the limitations of traditional checkout systems.

Grocery stores equipped with AI have the tools, such as computer vision, to correctly identify all the items collected by a particular consumer. Prior to their store exit, the person is charged in their person’s bank card linked with their store’s account without any intervention from store employees.

The main example in this area is Amazon Go, the new kind of store featuring the world's most advanced shopping technology. Thanks to the proprietary Just Walk Out technology, you enter the store, pick up your goods, and leave without passing through a checkout. The system monitors the products you select and bills them to your Amazon account as you leave the store. The only thing you need to do is install the Amazon Go app on your smartphone.

Amazon Go has already established itself in the UK offering the supermarket model without cash registers or cashiers, and plans to open stores in Spain, Germany, and Italy by 2024.

Meanwhile, Ghop, the first grab and go-supermarket in Spain, has just opened its doors in the Moraleja Green shopping center in Madrid. With the same business model as Amazon Go, all store operations and resources are automated and centralized, including user check-in, product recognition at the cash register, remote assistance, mobile payment and door opening after verification, as well as video surveillance and automatic real-time stock management. Ghop sums up the shopping experience as "get in, get it, get out".

Similar technology is being applied by other disruptive companies in different types of stores, including self-service restaurants, travel restaurants, and bakeries. For instance, the Spanish company Proppos is a computer vision company specialized in food recognition. On top of their technology, Proppos offers outstanding AI checkout solutions for the Foodservice and Retail industries, designed to have the fastest ROI. Thanks to their high identification accuracy, Proppos offers a huge productivity increase to their clients with a plug and play installation. Their mission is to transform the checkout experience through accurate, autonomous and affordable computer vision solutions.