In Warsaw, Carrefour has opened a fully automated shop under the sign ‘Express 24/7’. The innovative self-service concept is available to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Belgium, the retailer stopped a similar project earlier this year due to technical problems.
Vending machines
The offer of the pilot store is quite varied: it includes sandwiches, snacks, drinks, sweets and fresh products (packaged apples, tomatoes, lettuce, bread, butter, dairy products, sausages and fish), but also basic necessities such as flour, rice, sugar, oil, coffee, tea and herbs. In addition, shoppers will find ready-made meals, personal care products and pet food. There is also a coffee machine.
The 24/7 shop is reminiscent of the mobile and digital AH to go shop Albert Heijn opened at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, but is technologically less advanced. There are no sensors or automatic payments: products are selected on a touch screen, and payment is made by card or smartphone. The customer can then pick up the products from the various vending machines. In the event of an unforeseen situation, such as problems with the payment or collection of products, a 24-hour hotline is available. The stock is checked and replenished by the staff of a nearby Carrefour Market.
Affordable shopping after closing time
“The retailer chose to work with classic vending machines. That makes this project economically viable and scalable. Large projects such as the famous Amazon Go stores can cost hundreds of thousands of euros. In comparison, our automated shop is much more accessible. It can be used to first get to know the new purchasing habits of customers and to observe how they interact with new technology”, Robert Cnotalski of technology supplier Marketlab told RetailDetail. His company developed the vending machine shop in cooperation with Carrefour Poland.
“In the long run, we could replace the vending machines with shelving controlled by our SmartEye image recognition system, for example. There is a lot of room for development and new ideas.” Carrefour Express 24/7 is incredibly convenient, says Cnotalski: “Previously, Polish customers had no access to affordable shopping after closing time or on Sundays. Thanks to this unmanned format, everyone can do his or her shopping whenever he or she wants.” Moreover, there are no thresholds: you do not need an app or a credit card to gain access: “Everyone can enter the store and make a purchase.”
Test project
This test project will take at least a few months to complete. Carrefour Poland states in a press release that the new concept is part of its extensive omni-channel strategy: the retailer wants to ensure that customers have the opportunity to shop in the way they want and to experience the best shopping experience anywhere, anytime. The advantage of the vending machine shop is the low implementation cost. The company sees opportunities in residential areas and tourist destinations and is also considering a mobile version.
This unmanned Carrefour Express 24/7 is already the third new store concept that the retailer has launched in Poland this year. Earlier, the company also opened its first Carrefour Bio store and three branches of Supeco, the discount formula that is now also appearing in the north of France. Remarkable is the fact that Carrefour also had plans to open a 24/7 automatic shop in Belgium, in the center of Brussels. However, this project was cancelled due to technical defects. Carrefour Poland and Belgium are under the responsibility of the same CEO: Guillaume de Colonges, who is in charge of Northern and Eastern Europe.
