News

In High Road of London’s borough of Greenwich, Aldi UK's just-walk-out pilot store has opened for the public this week. Previously, only staff have been able to test the discounter's high-tech store, as reported by Retail Optimiser. In this store, shoppers do not have to scan their purchases or go through a checkout.

US grocer Kroger is expanding its home delivery test operation with self-driving vehicles in Houston, Texas. For this, it will use the latest generation of electric, driverless vehicles from specialist Nuro.

JD.com has opened its first physical retail outlets in Europe. At initially two automated pick-up stations in the Netherlands, members of the retailer’s new warehouse club, dubbed Ochama, can pick up their online purchases on the same day.

Netto Marken-Discount pilots its new Pick&Go concept with Trigo technology in Munich. This makes the Edeka subsidiary the first German discounter to test autonomous shopping in live operation.

Coop Danmark is integrating shelf planning and automated replenishment with the `Living Retail Platform' of Finnish supplier Relex. In the medium term, the company intends to plan assortments and product placements individually at store level, Lebensmittel Zeitung reports.

Penny is gradually rolling out Scan & Go with the technology from Shopreme to all its 2,150 discount stores in Germany. Customers can already conveniently use self-scanning and payment via smartphone at 160 locations.

Sainsbury's has become the first European retailer to rely on Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. The British supermarket operator opened a cashierless convenience store in London using the competitor's solution.

The digital shopping assistant is now also available as a white-label solution for grocery retailers. The app makes it easier for customers to choose the food that is right for them. An optional laboratory analysis provides clarity about nutritional requirements. Bayard Consulting and Better Life cooperate in providing access to product content.

Aldi Nord is introducing Relex for replenishment automation based on sales forecasts as well as shelf space optimisation. The discounter sees inventory optimisation as a central component of its modernisation, and is throwing out SAP's F&R engine, which was introduced only a few years ago. By discounter standards, Aldi Nord's plans to introduce electronic shelf price labels in all stores…

In a store in Bremen, Back-Factory is piloting self-service terminals from manufacturer Pan Oston that can register goods using image recognition and AI instead of barcode scanning. Camera systems and software were developed by sister companies Smoothr and Walkout Technologies.