Netto Marken-Discount opens first Pick&Go shop with Trigo

Netto Marken-Discount is the first German discounter to enable autonomous shopping without a checkout process. In Munich’s Schwabing district, the Edeka subsidiary pilots the service dubbed Pick&Go with technology from Israeli start-up company Trigo.

The location near the university reaches a high percentage of young consumers who are open to technology. Here, customers who have set up the payment function of the Netto app can shop conveniently and fast without waiting at the checkout. The discounter has opted for a hybrid concept. Shoppers can also pay at a traditional, attended checkout.

Computer vision and AI register purchases

Customers who want to use Pick&Go have to scan a QR code from the Netto app when entering the shop. They can then simply take the desired products from the shelves and place them into their shopping bag. They can leave the store directly via an express exit. The bill then appears automatically in the app and is settled using the stored payment method.

Trigo technology tracks customer behaviour and registers their purchases via sensors built into the ceiling and shelves. Computer vision and artificial intelligence ensure that the selected products are clearly recognised and assigned to the shopper. This applies to all items in the 3,500-item assortment, including, for example, unpackaged baked goods. Pick&Go also enables purchases of age-restricted products. Therefore, users who register for the service must be at least 18 years old. This is checked by a staff member at the first visit.

Netto states that they assure full protection of the privacy of their customers and security of their data. The technology used by Trigo is GDPR-compliant as the application does not use facial recognition. Customers’ movement data remains anonymous, and no biometric data is stored.

Trigo’s technology is also used by British grocer Tesco and Rewe Group, as reported by The Retail Optimiser.