Trends/Technology/Store visits

Technology store visits

Videos

Store of the month: December 2021: Carrefour Flash, Paris, France
21/12/2021
See inside our pick for December’s store of the month, Carrefour Flash, Paris, France. Carrefour opened its first frictionless store in partnership with AiFi with the promise is to “shop in 10 seconds, pay in 10 seconds”
Watch here
Store of the month July 2021: Monop’, Paris, France
26/07/2021
See inside our pick for July’s store of the month, Monop’, Paris, France. It’s the latest convenience concept from Groupe Casino which brings together food-to-go, local products, services and an unmanned retail section that is open 24 hours daily.
Watch here
Store of the month: February 2022: Aldi Shop&Go, London, UK
28/02/2022
See inside our pick for February’s store of the month, Aldi Shop&Go, London, UK. It is the retailer’s first checkout-free store in the UK.
Watch here

Presentations

Kavanagh’s Budgens: raising the bar in UK grocery
15/05/2023
The Kavanagh Group opened its fifth Budgens store in early 2023: this unit in Belsize Park. The outlet was already a Budgens, but an extensive refit has seen it evolve significantly. The store trades from 10,000 sq. ft. and offers over 10,000 SKUs. Its core grocery offer is augmented by a wealth of service counters, food-for-later counters and food-for-now facilities. The focus of the store is on elevated merchandising, adept use of technologies, strong customer service and catering for a variety of shopper missions.
View presentation
Aldi Nord’s first cashierless store
14/02/2023
Step inside Aldi Nord’s first cashierless store in partnership with Trigo. Discover how the combination of low prices and a high-quality, technologically advanced experience offers something entirely new to shoppers in the Netherlands.
View presentation
Are hybrid cashierless stores the future?
19/12/2022
Cashierless stores have been a hot topic in 2022. We take a look inside a new hybrid concept from discount format Netto in Germany and consider if this is the future of the technology.
View presentation
GS25's futuristic convenience concept explores tech 2.0 in South Korea
01/10/2022
A first-look at GS25’s new digital experience lab store. It tests a wide range of technologies with potential to unlock the next stage of channel growth in the highly competitive South Korean market.
View presentation
Flexing the Amazon Go format
08/09/2022
Discover how Amazon has adapted its core urban convenience format for a suburban location.
View presentation
Inside Rewe, Pick & Go, Cologne, Germany
05/09/2022
A review of Rewe’s first Pick & Go concept.
View presentation
Cashierless stores in the UK
29/06/2022
In this report, we review the cashierless stores in London, and give our view about what the industry should expect to see next.
View presentation
Amazon brings ‘Just Walk Out’ to Whole Foods Market
01/03/2022
Following plans announced by Amazon last year to launch its ‘Just Walk Out’ technology in two Whole Foods Market stores, the first has opened in Washington, D.C.
View presentation
Inside Aldi Shop&Go, London, UK
20/01/2022
Aldi UK has opened its first cashierless store in London. Shoppers gain access to the store and pay through the Aldi Shop&Go app, and pick items with no scanning needed.
View presentation
Inside Carrefour Flash, Paris, France
26/11/2021
Carrefour opened its first frictionless store in Paris with the promise to "shop in 10 seconds and pay in 10 seconds". No gates, no need of an app, just walk inside the store.
View presentation
Inside Tesco Express, Holborn, with ‘GetGo’ technology
19/10/2021
In this report we look at Tesco’s latest cashierless store in Holborn, London, and how it is changing the way we shop, and the implications for retailers and brands.
View presentation
Inside Amazon Fresh, Chalk Farm, UK
29/06/2021
Amazon Fresh UK offers a ‘Just Walk Out’ easy-to-shop format with an impressive range of products catering to a range of key convenience missions. In this report we take a deep dive into the products on offer in the Chalk Farm store and review the shopping experience.
View presentation
Inside Amazon Fresh, Ealing, UK
09/03/2021
See inside Amazon's first convenience store offering its Just Walk Out Technology, used in its Go format, outside of the US. Key features include an easy shopping experience, the retailer's new private label range, by Amazon, and a focus on convenience missions.
View presentation
Amazon Fresh, Los Angeles, USA
16/11/2020
Amazon has recently launched an innovative physical food retail concept. We look at some of the unique elements of this format including the Amazon Dash Cart and the integration of Alexa, its voice-based assistant.
View presentation
Six ways Albert Heijn delivers excellence in new concept supermarket
27/07/2020
Albert Heijn's new concept supermarket launched in March 2020 during a local lockdown. Explore how it adapted for success amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and how ranging, private label and digitalisation will set it apart in the future.
View presentation
Walmart Neighborhood Market, Levittown, USA
26/03/2020
Last year, Walmart opened the Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL), taking an existing Neighborhood Market store and transforming it into a live retail lab. We recently visited the store to see how the retailer is using artificial intelligence to improve the in-store experience.
View presentation
Amazon Go Grocery, Seattle, USA
03/03/2020
We visited Amazon's largest and most remarkable store to date featuring its just walk-out technology to see how it continues to push the boundaries of innovation in food retailing.
View presentation
Asda Stevenage: ‘Test & Learn’ technology store
11/02/2020
Asda's is testing numerous technologies at Stevenage to improve the customer experience and make the store more efficient to operate. In this report we showcase six technologies - 3D hologram projectors, automated click & collect, availability cameras, a customer engagement intercom, Scan and Go Mobile and high impact digital screens.
View presentation
Coop Norge: unstaffed store and tailored assortment
02/01/2020
We spend a day with Coop Norge, visiting some of their latest store concepts. The retailer is currently testing an unstaffed solution at one of its discount store Extra, in Oslo, a first in Norway. It continues to evolve and improve its assortment to align with shopper needs and the market trends.
View presentation
Stora Coop, Bromma, Sweden
18/12/2019
We visited a hypermarket, Stora Coop, in Bromma to see how Coop Sverige has invested in the store to drive differentiation, in-store excellence and footfall. We were impressed with the sustainable initiatives and use of technology.
View presentation
Walmart Lomas Toreo, Mexico City, Mexico
20/11/2019
We visited Walmart’s flagship Lomas Toreo store in Mexico City. It features many of the retailer’s latest omnichannel initiatives, which enhance the shopping experience. It is the first store in Mexico to feature an online Pick-up tower and the first to showcase its modern Café Marketside concept.
View presentation
X5 lab store, Moscow, Russia
10/06/2019
The X5 lab store is located just inside Moscow’s second ring. It shares the space with a Pyaterochka store where retail solutions are tested and their impact on shoppers’ experience is assessed. The concept store tests innovative retail solutions to assess their impact on sales and costs. These are conducted before deciding on whether to roll them out to the wider X5 network. We visited the store to observe the solutions being tested.
View presentation
Retail execution at Amazon Go, San Francisco USA
13/05/2019
Last year, Amazon opened its first Amazon Go store to the public in Seattle. One year on and the network has grown to 12 locations. We recently visited one of its new stores in San Francisco to see how the format is developing and to consider what's next.
View presentation