Belgian-owned retail corporation Colruyt Group has announced it is developing several in-store technologies for stores of the future.
The group said it has tested the technologies over the past month which focus on ensuring shelves are efficiently replenished, counting the number of customers entering the store and measuring the level of crowds at the checkout. The firm said it expects these initiatives to lead to improved customer service and enable store associates to manage their time more efficiently.
Estimating the store influx
The technology intervenes as soon as the customer arrives on site with Colruyt testing a people counter at the entrance to its stores in order to count the number of customers entering. This is a fully anonymous process. The objective is to be able to estimate the influx in the store and to establish the schedule of the employees in the store accordingly. Such technology is also being tested at checkouts with the aim of adapting the number of employees present according to the number of people.
Virginie Vandenperre, Head of Sales Services and Promotion at Colruyt Best Prices said: “For our customers, a fast and efficient checkout is essential – nobody likes to wait a long time at the checkout. We are currently testing these people counters in our store in Halle. They should allow a reduction in waiting time at the checkout, especially in combination with the easy check out, the advantages of which we are already seeing.
Keeping shelves replenished
In addition, another new technology to ensure constant shelf replenishment is also being tested. This technology, developed by the innovation team within Colruyt Group Smart Technics, combines sales figures with store stock figures and information about the location of the shelves containing the relevant products in the store.
This data is translated into a plan displayed on a screen in the store’s stock warehouse. Employees are thus informed of the shelves that must be replenished as a priority, so that customers can always find all the products they need.
As well as this, an AI-powered shelf scanner which is essentially a camera that scans shelves is in the test phase. This ray scanner tracks the status of the rays through an automated process and helps to optimise in-store deliveries and analyse the appropriate placement of a product on the shelf. According to the firm, this means products are recommended and delivered to the store on time, ensuring a well-stocked shelf and avoiding overstocking.
Meanwhile, Halle’s store is conducting a series of tests with cleaning robots that clean the store’s floor.Earlier this year, Colruyt presented the “easy check out”, a checkout system equipped with artificial intelligence which is said to speed up checkout by 20%. It also previously launched “product finder”, a system that aims to help store employees save up to an hour and a half a day when restocking on the shelves.
All images from Colruyt Group
