Auchan Polska has opened its first autonomous mini-store in Warsaw under the banner name Auchan Go. The store’s technology is provided by Trigo. Customers can enter the scanless store 24 hours a day and shop seven days a week. The fact that shoppers only register at the entrance terminal with a common bank card and their phone number instead of having to identify themselves via a retailer app and QR codes is new for the Israeli retail tech specialist Trigo.
After testing the concept without an app with employees and guests of the French retailer at its headquarters in Villeneuve d’Ascq, Poland is the first country where an Auchan Go store has been opened to consumers using this approach. Commenting on the opening of the Auchan Go in Warsaw, Michael Gabay, co-founder and CEO of Trigo, said: “The Auchan store in Poland marks a significant step towards innovative payment options and a new shopping experience for the customer.”
Auchan’s competitor Żabka already operates around 20 cashierless stores in the Polish capital with its technology partner AiFi, which have offered shoppers access without registration via an app or QR code since a long time. Customers enter the autonomous mini-stores of the convenience specialist with an ordinary bank card as a means of payment and are also asked to register an individual phone number, to which a digital receipt is sent after the purchase. In total, Żabka operates around 60 scanless stores of its AI-based concept Żabka Nano and is – in terms of the number of autonomous stores in Europe – the leading player.
Rules against unpleasant surprises
In the new Auchan Go at 29 Kasprzaka Street in Warsaw, up to 30 shoppers can simultaneously do their purchases in a 75-square-metre space without having to visit a checkout or scan their goods. Video cameras, sensors and shelf scales are installed in the store. Trigo’s solution detects the movements of each customer and automatically records the products taken from the shelves or put back. Payment is made automatically via the bank card presented at the entrance terminal, and a digital receipt is sent to the telephone number registered at the entrance as soon as the customer leaves the store.
On the Polish Auchan Go website, shoppers are advised of a set of guidelines for this concept store: If they put products back, they can only do so at the exact place on the shelf. If goods are placed elsewhere, the shopper’s bank card will be charged for these items. If goods are placed elsewhere, the shopper’s bank card is charged for these items. The customers’ bills are also charged for products they take from the shelves and pass on to other people in the store. If more than one person enters the store with one bank card, the card will be charged for all the products taken by the group members. Shoppers should also make sure that they close the door of the store after shopping so that their bank card is not charged with the items that subsequent people take from the shelf. Group members who have entered the store with a bank card should also leave the store together.
The assortment of Auchan Polska’s 24/7 store comprises more than 1,000 SKUs, including snacks, sandwiches, beverages, dairy products, frozen foods, organic products, deli foods and convenience. A special focus is on fresh products – meat, cold cuts and fruit. More than 40 per cent of the offered items consists of Auchan’s private labels.
40 new stores in the next few years
Auchan announces the further development of the autonomous concept. “We are constantly monitoring how the needs of our customers change dynamically and will continue to develop the Auchan Go concept. Ultimately, we plan to open 40 stores of this type in the next few years,” explains Katarzyna Tokarewicz, Director of Transformation and Projects at Auchan Polska.
