Portuguese supermarket chain Pingo Doce is testing Amazon Go’s technology for a cashierless and cashless store – the first of the kind in Europe. The Go 24/7 machine in particular is “new to food retail”, says managing director Isabel Ferreira Pinto.
Pilot store on university campus
On the campus of the University of Carcavelos, near Lisbon, the Portuguese supermarket chain opened a high-tech trial shop. In collaboration with SBE Nova, the university’s tech faculty that was founded last year, the chain launched a contactless convenience store without checkouts.
The majority of the shop works like most self-scan shops: by using an app, customers can remove products from the shelves and scan the electronic labels or packaging to automatically update their shopping basket. They can then pay directly in the app and leave the shop without having to go through a checkout.
Unstaffed and cashless
Customers who still want to make a physical payment, can use their bank or credit card at various payment terminals, but the shop does not accept cash. “With this store, we wanted to create a different shopping experience, which is really convenient and practical for the academic community and the surrounding community”, Ferreira Pinto explains.
The “young innovation lovers at the University of Carcavelos” in particular like to make use of the convenience store, says the CEO, after almost a month of it being open. The unstaffed shop has a surface area of 250 sqm and a range that meets the needs of students, including a convenience food section and a pasta and salad bar.
Vending machine with image recognition
“The analysis system implemented in this shop will help to adapt the product range to the customer’s preferences”, says Ferreira Pinto. “We test a number of solutions that are new to the food retail market, both in terms of technology — which is mostly developed by Portuguese companies — and in terms of the range and type of store”.
The most innovative element of the shop is Go, a vending machine that includes a smart refrigeration system that is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Filled with convenience and on-the-go products, such as sandwiches, drinks and meals, the vending machine uses image recognition through a combination of cameras and sensors. You open the vending machine (still in beta format) using the app and then just take out what you want. In the same way as Amazon Go, the app automatically charges you as soon as you close the door.
Ability to also observe young shoppers
Ferreira Pinto sees a greater number of solutions and applications by using the technology in the future. It is interesting to note, for example, that in-store self-scanning also works for products that are not packaged, such as hot coffee to take away or bulk buys of nuts.
The test shop should enable Pingo Doce “to observe, study and learn more about the latest consumer trends and new ways of shopping”. Pingo Doce has more than 400 shops throughout Portugal, including in Madeira.
