High-tech shopping: innovations that change the appearance of retail and shopping centers
As high technologies actively come to retail, shopping becomes not only easier, but also ... more interesting. Shopping is more and more like an exciting game in which goods actually communicate with the buyer, and robots help make a choice and pay.
Photo foodandnutrition.org
Before communism, in which "everything will be free," we do not seem to live. But shopping in a modern shopping center without cash or even bank cards is already our reality. The universally implemented payment process using a smartphone is extremely simple. The client uses either the mobile application of his bank or the software supplied by the retailer. Conveniently on all sides - even in terms of storing checks and receipts that come to the buyer via email. It seems that in a short time, a wallet that is not forgotten at home, but a discharged smartphone, will become a greater nuisance when traveling to the mall. Although MEGA, for example, has already solved this problem: guests of shopping centers can charge their phones in locked cells.
Today, the smartphone - the most important ally of retail in collecting information about potential customers. This data, referred to as Big Data, contains information about “average checks”, preferences and interests of customers.
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Big data is the magic key to customer loyalty, which allows you to personalize relationships to the maximum. Many retailers develop their own software for this purpose. On the one hand, this software helps the seller to collect even more data. On the other hand, it improves the service for regular customers. In the same shopping centers of MEGA, using the mobile application, the buyer can receive many pleasant privileges. For example, quickly find the store you want, sync data with other devices, or share your shopping list with other family members. The MEGA application also helps to find the most convenient way to get to the shopping center (depending on the user's location, time of day and traffic) and quickly receive information on new interesting promotions in all (or certain) stores. The hit of the MEGA loyalty program is a debit or credit card MEGACARD, which works as a full-fledged bank card and at the same time allows you to accumulate points for MEGA-shopping and almost completely pay for them in the stores of the shopping center.
Imagine: having chosen the necessary goods on the trading floor, you quietly leave the store with them, without lingering for a second. And the money is automatically deducted from your account. Such "vendor-free shops" in Japan are beginning to be implemented at the government level. Until 2025, about 50 thousand retail outlets in the country should switch to this system.
For accounting and control, all products will be equipped with chips containing information on price and manufacturer, product shelf life and other useful data. Among other things, these chips will simplify the process of accounting for goods for retailers themselves. And also for manufacturers - the information can be viewed remotely.
Outwardly, this system resembles the Amazon Go test project. However, this famous offline supermarket, which opened in Seattle at the end of last year, does not use chips. The control is carried out by artificial intelligence systems, but they are still far from perfect. For example, if the store has more than 20 people, the system fails. Problems arise in the case when the product changes its position on the shelf. For example, a customer looked at a product, twisted it in his hands - and put it on another shelf. And the system has already “lost” it. So the mass launch of the network of “robotic stores”, originally planned for the spring of 2017, did not take place.
Amazon Go is a store that does not need sellers. Photo engadget.com
In any case, robots perform more and more tasks at Amazon. And quite effectively: for example, Kiva's royal storekeepers allowed the company to reduce storage costs by as much as 20%.
And yet, completely without the "human" staff can not do. But to help sellers in their work artificial intelligence is quite capable. In this regard, curious innovation of Russian developers from Dubna - an algorithm for tracking emotions that recognizes potential buyers for individuals. Know-how is being tested in the only sporting goods store in Dubna. Intelligent camera on facial expressions and other characteristic features determines when a person is ready to make a purchase. After that, the system sends a message with a photograph of the client to the nearest consultant.
Meanwhile, French retailer Auchan successfully tested a porter robot in one of its supermarkets in Portugal. WiiGO recognizes the customer by sight and follows him around the sales area at a distance of about one and a half meters. The company plans to use such assistants to help the elderly, people with disabilities, as well as women with children and pregnant women. For example, WiiGO can be entrusted with a stroller with a child or a shopping cart.
Speaking of carts. The original anti-theft system CartControl was patented by the Canadian company Gatekeeper Systems. Smart wheels are automatically locked when you try to cross a given perimeter. The administration can set the necessary boundaries - for example, within the parking lot. Now the supermarket does not incur losses from “thieves”, and the client does not need to leave a deposit for a cart in the form of tokens or coins.
Such an anti-theft device would not hurt a smart-cart, created by Belarusian startups. The essence of innovation is a tablet in an anti-vandal case, which is mounted in a trolley. The Shop Carts gadget helps you choose products and even pay for purchases, eliminating the need to waste time in queues. Easy navigation includes voice search. Hold the barcode to the tablet - the price of the product and other information will be displayed on the touchscreen. The gadget calculates the cost of all the goods in the basket and accepts payment without any problems using mobile phones and bank cards. Shop Carts can store information about each customer: the next time, the smart cart will quickly orient you to the shopping list stored in your Personal Account.
Smart Cart Interface: comprehensive product information plus the ability to advertise store promotions.
Photo tech.onliner.by
It is worth noting that in Chinese supermarkets trolleys with tablets have been used for a long time. True, in China, this gadget performs purely entertainment and advertising functions. Not a bad idea: customers can browse mail or news while standing in a queue, or google information about a product on the Internet. However, the concept proposed by Belarusians opens up much more prospects for retail. What is worth only the personalization of the approach to each client, the possibility of developing loyalty programs or collecting the notorious Big Data! Then it all depends on the software. For example, in the proposed demo version by developers, there is a virtual assistant who emotionally encourages guests to make shopping exploits.
After a smart-cart, the mirror endowed with artificial intelligence is not so impressive anymore. These mirrors appeared in the fitting stores of Ralph Lauren. The device reads information about the garments that the buyer brought to the cabin. After that, not only the selected products and information about them, but also similar models are displayed on the surface of the mirror. Combinations with other items of clothing, various colors and sizes, data on materials are all clickable and interactive. Need a different size or style? Click on the image on the mirror, and the consultant will immediately bring the order. Is it worth explaining that the mirror is simultaneously a touchscreen? It is important that the system is able to remember the buyer - in order to improve his service during the next visit.
The mirrors in the Ralph Lauren fitting rooms give good advice on how to update your wardrobe.
Photo starfl.com
However, not all fitting rooms are designed to create comfortable conditions - and vice versa. The company Globetrotter produces clothing for extreme sports. And it is offered to try on it in no less extreme conditions. So, in a specially designed cabins for customers satisfied with this storm, dousing them with water and blowing cold air. And you can lower the temperature to minus 30 degrees to simulate a harsh winter. Again, at the request of the client - with a gusting icy wind. Excellent opportunity to test the goods in close to real conditions!
It also happens that you don’t want to try on clothes for some reason. This is where Texel development comes in handy. The company is a software developer and a manufacturer of professional 3D scanners for getting 3D models of people and large-sized objects, the winner of the Russian stage of the start-up competition Seedstars World 2015 and the finalist of last year’s MEGA Accelerator (in detail about the product and what the accelerator gave him, we told in the last publication ).
According to the developers, the 3D cab created by them is capable of scanning at 40 objects per hour, while the models obtained with it can be easily used by users for 3D printing, since the accuracy of texture transfer is 1 millimeter. During the pilot project in MEGA Belaya Dacha, more than 20 thousand people were scanned.
Modern retail simplifies not only the process of purchasing goods, but also its delivery. It is possible that shopping centers will soon follow the example of online retailers who have successfully adjusted the operational transportation of packages by drones. For example, the Chinese online store JD.com by the end of the year intends to adjust the delivery of orders by drones on one hundred regular routes. By the way, according to the “dronization” of retail, China has already overtaken the United States. Although the ancestor of this type of delivery, mentioned above by Amazon, continues to introduce innovations in the "air direction". The company intends to launch "warehouse airships" over areas in which there is increased demand. Delivery time in this way can be minimized.
UAVs can quickly deliver the order to the buyer. Photo gagadget.com
Ideally, the customer should not care at all about how the purchases will go to his home - let the appropriate store service think about it. Moreover, a caring retailer and the buyer will help with transport. In MEGE this goal is served by an interactive kiosk through which you can quickly order a taxi. And not only: these interactive displays are trying to become real virtual assistants for our guests.
We ran through only some of the most notable innovations in the field of retail. And although many projects are still in the testing stage, there is no doubt: in the near future they will find their place in stores and shopping centers. We hope that they will inspire you to participate in our MEGA Accelerator 2. Come to us with your high-tech ideas on how to make a visit to the shopping center more interesting, more comfortable and more useful for its guests, get a great expertise, 350 thousand to create a prototype and a chance win 2 million rubles.
Detailed information can be obtained on our website . The deadline for applications is July 27.
Photo foodandnutrition.org
Buyers will not need money ...
Before communism, in which "everything will be free," we do not seem to live. But shopping in a modern shopping center without cash or even bank cards is already our reality. The universally implemented payment process using a smartphone is extremely simple. The client uses either the mobile application of his bank or the software supplied by the retailer. Conveniently on all sides - even in terms of storing checks and receipts that come to the buyer via email. It seems that in a short time, a wallet that is not forgotten at home, but a discharged smartphone, will become a greater nuisance when traveling to the mall. Although MEGA, for example, has already solved this problem: guests of shopping centers can charge their phones in locked cells.
Today, the smartphone - the most important ally of retail in collecting information about potential customers. This data, referred to as Big Data, contains information about “average checks”, preferences and interests of customers.
')
Big data is the magic key to customer loyalty, which allows you to personalize relationships to the maximum. Many retailers develop their own software for this purpose. On the one hand, this software helps the seller to collect even more data. On the other hand, it improves the service for regular customers. In the same shopping centers of MEGA, using the mobile application, the buyer can receive many pleasant privileges. For example, quickly find the store you want, sync data with other devices, or share your shopping list with other family members. The MEGA application also helps to find the most convenient way to get to the shopping center (depending on the user's location, time of day and traffic) and quickly receive information on new interesting promotions in all (or certain) stores. The hit of the MEGA loyalty program is a debit or credit card MEGACARD, which works as a full-fledged bank card and at the same time allows you to accumulate points for MEGA-shopping and almost completely pay for them in the stores of the shopping center.
... and shops are sellers
Imagine: having chosen the necessary goods on the trading floor, you quietly leave the store with them, without lingering for a second. And the money is automatically deducted from your account. Such "vendor-free shops" in Japan are beginning to be implemented at the government level. Until 2025, about 50 thousand retail outlets in the country should switch to this system.
For accounting and control, all products will be equipped with chips containing information on price and manufacturer, product shelf life and other useful data. Among other things, these chips will simplify the process of accounting for goods for retailers themselves. And also for manufacturers - the information can be viewed remotely.
Outwardly, this system resembles the Amazon Go test project. However, this famous offline supermarket, which opened in Seattle at the end of last year, does not use chips. The control is carried out by artificial intelligence systems, but they are still far from perfect. For example, if the store has more than 20 people, the system fails. Problems arise in the case when the product changes its position on the shelf. For example, a customer looked at a product, twisted it in his hands - and put it on another shelf. And the system has already “lost” it. So the mass launch of the network of “robotic stores”, originally planned for the spring of 2017, did not take place.
Amazon Go is a store that does not need sellers. Photo engadget.com
In any case, robots perform more and more tasks at Amazon. And quite effectively: for example, Kiva's royal storekeepers allowed the company to reduce storage costs by as much as 20%.
And yet, completely without the "human" staff can not do. But to help sellers in their work artificial intelligence is quite capable. In this regard, curious innovation of Russian developers from Dubna - an algorithm for tracking emotions that recognizes potential buyers for individuals. Know-how is being tested in the only sporting goods store in Dubna. Intelligent camera on facial expressions and other characteristic features determines when a person is ready to make a purchase. After that, the system sends a message with a photograph of the client to the nearest consultant.
Meanwhile, French retailer Auchan successfully tested a porter robot in one of its supermarkets in Portugal. WiiGO recognizes the customer by sight and follows him around the sales area at a distance of about one and a half meters. The company plans to use such assistants to help the elderly, people with disabilities, as well as women with children and pregnant women. For example, WiiGO can be entrusted with a stroller with a child or a shopping cart.
Carts with tablets and tablets without carts
Speaking of carts. The original anti-theft system CartControl was patented by the Canadian company Gatekeeper Systems. Smart wheels are automatically locked when you try to cross a given perimeter. The administration can set the necessary boundaries - for example, within the parking lot. Now the supermarket does not incur losses from “thieves”, and the client does not need to leave a deposit for a cart in the form of tokens or coins.
Such an anti-theft device would not hurt a smart-cart, created by Belarusian startups. The essence of innovation is a tablet in an anti-vandal case, which is mounted in a trolley. The Shop Carts gadget helps you choose products and even pay for purchases, eliminating the need to waste time in queues. Easy navigation includes voice search. Hold the barcode to the tablet - the price of the product and other information will be displayed on the touchscreen. The gadget calculates the cost of all the goods in the basket and accepts payment without any problems using mobile phones and bank cards. Shop Carts can store information about each customer: the next time, the smart cart will quickly orient you to the shopping list stored in your Personal Account.
Smart Cart Interface: comprehensive product information plus the ability to advertise store promotions.
Photo tech.onliner.by
It is worth noting that in Chinese supermarkets trolleys with tablets have been used for a long time. True, in China, this gadget performs purely entertainment and advertising functions. Not a bad idea: customers can browse mail or news while standing in a queue, or google information about a product on the Internet. However, the concept proposed by Belarusians opens up much more prospects for retail. What is worth only the personalization of the approach to each client, the possibility of developing loyalty programs or collecting the notorious Big Data! Then it all depends on the software. For example, in the proposed demo version by developers, there is a virtual assistant who emotionally encourages guests to make shopping exploits.
"Smart" mirror and bad weather in the fitting room
After a smart-cart, the mirror endowed with artificial intelligence is not so impressive anymore. These mirrors appeared in the fitting stores of Ralph Lauren. The device reads information about the garments that the buyer brought to the cabin. After that, not only the selected products and information about them, but also similar models are displayed on the surface of the mirror. Combinations with other items of clothing, various colors and sizes, data on materials are all clickable and interactive. Need a different size or style? Click on the image on the mirror, and the consultant will immediately bring the order. Is it worth explaining that the mirror is simultaneously a touchscreen? It is important that the system is able to remember the buyer - in order to improve his service during the next visit.
The mirrors in the Ralph Lauren fitting rooms give good advice on how to update your wardrobe.
Photo starfl.com
However, not all fitting rooms are designed to create comfortable conditions - and vice versa. The company Globetrotter produces clothing for extreme sports. And it is offered to try on it in no less extreme conditions. So, in a specially designed cabins for customers satisfied with this storm, dousing them with water and blowing cold air. And you can lower the temperature to minus 30 degrees to simulate a harsh winter. Again, at the request of the client - with a gusting icy wind. Excellent opportunity to test the goods in close to real conditions!
It also happens that you don’t want to try on clothes for some reason. This is where Texel development comes in handy. The company is a software developer and a manufacturer of professional 3D scanners for getting 3D models of people and large-sized objects, the winner of the Russian stage of the start-up competition Seedstars World 2015 and the finalist of last year’s MEGA Accelerator (in detail about the product and what the accelerator gave him, we told in the last publication ).
According to the developers, the 3D cab created by them is capable of scanning at 40 objects per hour, while the models obtained with it can be easily used by users for 3D printing, since the accuracy of texture transfer is 1 millimeter. During the pilot project in MEGA Belaya Dacha, more than 20 thousand people were scanned.
Shopping that travels "on its own"
Modern retail simplifies not only the process of purchasing goods, but also its delivery. It is possible that shopping centers will soon follow the example of online retailers who have successfully adjusted the operational transportation of packages by drones. For example, the Chinese online store JD.com by the end of the year intends to adjust the delivery of orders by drones on one hundred regular routes. By the way, according to the “dronization” of retail, China has already overtaken the United States. Although the ancestor of this type of delivery, mentioned above by Amazon, continues to introduce innovations in the "air direction". The company intends to launch "warehouse airships" over areas in which there is increased demand. Delivery time in this way can be minimized.
UAVs can quickly deliver the order to the buyer. Photo gagadget.com
Ideally, the customer should not care at all about how the purchases will go to his home - let the appropriate store service think about it. Moreover, a caring retailer and the buyer will help with transport. In MEGE this goal is served by an interactive kiosk through which you can quickly order a taxi. And not only: these interactive displays are trying to become real virtual assistants for our guests.
We ran through only some of the most notable innovations in the field of retail. And although many projects are still in the testing stage, there is no doubt: in the near future they will find their place in stores and shopping centers. We hope that they will inspire you to participate in our MEGA Accelerator 2. Come to us with your high-tech ideas on how to make a visit to the shopping center more interesting, more comfortable and more useful for its guests, get a great expertise, 350 thousand to create a prototype and a chance win 2 million rubles.
Detailed information can be obtained on our website . The deadline for applications is July 27.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/334184/
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