A dramatic shake-up in the way people shop at the supermarket is on the cards including the use of 'location-enabled' shopping trolleys and technology allowing them to recognise products.
The digital transformation manager of supermarket chain Foodstuffs, Paul Bartlett, has likened the developments to the disruption caused by Uber and believes they could have the same far-reaching impact on the grocery business as Uber is having on transport.
Bartlett says the technology - which is being tested at two North Island stores - is aimed at creating greater convenience for customers.
"Our mission is to speed up the check-out by reducing queue time, maybe even eliminating it altogether," he says. "A lot of people walk into a supermarket just to pick up something for dinner so our aim is to reduce the time they have to spend doing that."
Foodstuffs (which operate New World, Pak 'nSave and Four Square stores) is running two trials: In Wellington it is using radio technology attached to shopping trolleys to anonymously track what and where in the store customers browse products, while it is also testing product scanning technology that will potentially eliminate the need for barcode scanning, checkouts and queuing.
These initiatives come on top of Foodstuffs' announcement earlier this month that 'click and collect' online shopping is being rolled out over the next few months in all Pak'nSave stores in the North Island – bringing it into line with New World's click and collect online option.
Foodstuffs chief executive Chris Quin said at the time that customers have been asking the company to help save them time as well as money when shopping and believed that 'click and collect' at Pak'nSave "is the way to go for now".
The product recognition technology trial, taking place at the Four Square store in Ellerslie in Auckland, involves the use of a smart trolley or smart basket - activated by downloading an app to a smartphone - which recognises products as they are placed in the trolley or basket.
When products are chosen they appear on the phone's virtual basket, removing the traditional barcode scanning and checkout process altogether. A payment method is then linked to the shopper's account.
"We're excited to be one of the first in the world to trial this artificial intelligence with shoppers," says the company's GM strategy and new ventures, Catherine Tardif. "We see it as non-negotiable to work hard to develop what we call a 'frictionless' experience for shoppers and eliminate some of the frustration that comes with queuing at the checkout."
The technology has been developed by an Auckland-based artificial intelligence company IMAGR which has a team of 21 specialists hired from around the world to work on the project.
Meanwhile trolley location technology is being tested at the New World store in Island Bay. Using a system that has been likened to the indoor equivalent of GPS, the trial is studying the movement of trolleys around supermarket aisles using radio technology called ultra-wideband (UWB).
A device roughly the size of a bankcard has been fixed to the front of 10 trolleys and is able to measure their movements to within a 10-30cm accuracy. Although the data collected is anonymous, the trolleys being used are clearly marked and give customers the opportunity to "opt in" to help with the trial.
Bartlett says the trial is designed to help Foodstuffs better understand how people shop and, like the smart trolley/basket, may ultimately help the company introduce changes to make a supermarket shop less frustrating.
"Everyone shops differently," he says. "Some like to meander while others with busy lives like to get what they want as quickly as possible. By understanding each trolley's journey we can start to organise the store in a way that suits them and make it easier for them to find the products they want."
Bartlett says company figures show that the average time people spend in a supermarket is about 45 minutes – 20 minutes for those popping in to "top up" and get one or two quick items – but these are quite unscientific: "The trolley trial will enable us to produce a much more accurate measure of this."
The Foodstuffs initiatives are in line with global developments within the industry. In a 2018 article on Forbes.com, Nikki Baird, vice president of retail innovation at US-based retail services provider Aptos said scan and go can be a win-win for retailers and consumers but only if retailers first put effort in getting insights into customer thought processes as they shop.
"Grocery took a long time to become digitally disrupted," she said. "But that disruption is here…..and as each of these trends mature, expect a lot more innovation in the future."
Recent figures from the BNZ show annual online spending is running in excess of $4.5 billion in New Zealand, with the groceries category experiencing strong growth.