Edeka regional subsidiary for Northern Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia is operating a semi-autonomous grocery store for the first time. The Diska store in the municipality of Obermaßfeld-Grimmenthal in southern Thuringia enables customers to shop autonomously without staff outside regular opening hours. The technology for this so-called hybrid operation is provided by Austrian smart-store specialist Anystore.
With this pilot project, the group aims to tailor its offering to changing customer needs and test new approaches for the brick-and-mortar retail of the future. The Edeka regional subsidiary follows the example of independent shop owner of other Edeka regions who are already using Anystore’s technology. In April this year, for example, Edeka retailer Kim-David Eggert implemented the solution in his store in Sörup, Schleswig-Holstein. The Retail Optimiser reported.
Anystore CEO Dominik Leitner told The Retail Optimiser that more than 30 stores within the Edeka Group had already implemented the company’s technologies. In addition to the Northern Bavaria-Saxony-Thuringia region, these are in the regional subsidiaries Nordwest, Südwest and Minden-Hannover. The Edeka group is not the only organisation deploying Anystore: In total, the company has already equipped 135 retail stores with solutions for autonomous or semi-autonomous operation.
Controlled access to the over-18s section
The Diska store in Obermaßfeld-Grimmethal is part of the regional discount retail banner Diska, operated by the Edeka regional subsidiary, which has just under 110 stores across the three federal states. With a sales area of around 825 square metres, it offers a range of everyday essentials and, thanks to its convenient location right next to the railway station, also serves travellers and commuters. On weekdays, staff are on site from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Outside these hours, customers can gain access using their payment card. A card reader is located next to the door for this purpose.
Alcoholic drinks are in a separate area secured by a barrier. To gain access, customers must scan their identity card or driving licence at a terminal. Customers must first weigh and label fruit and vegetables. Self-service scales are available for this purpose in the fruit and vegetable section and at the checkout. At the self-checkout systems, customers then scan their purchases and pay cashless.
Complete solution from Anystore
Dominik Leitner tells The Retail Optimiser that the entire smart-store technology for the store was supplied by Anystore. This includes access control, digital signage displays, loudspeaker systems, age verification as well as video and sensor systems. The self-checkout terminals also come from the Austrian specialist.
At the heart of the solution is the so-called Retail Hub, which bundles all components into a pre-configured plug-and-play system. It controls processes and monitors day-to-day operations. All data converges here, from access and checkout transactions to device and network status, right through to customer movements.
