Then, Do you know that feeling of being watched? I'm not talking about your mother-in-law when she sees you put two sugar cubes in your coffee. I'm talking about a higher level. That of technology. Well, get ready. Because the next time you go in to buy milk, you could have dozens, hundreds of digital eyes pointed at you. Not to spy on you (or so they say), but to make you pay without going through the cashier. They're called standalone shops, and convenience is their flag. This is where their adoption is at.
How do standalone stores work?
Forget the line at the checkout, the scanner that doesn't read the barcode, the cashier (poor thing) trying to slalom between one impatient customer and another. In standalone stores, the magic happens in silence. You come in, take what you need and go out. Stop.
The system, or rather, and systems, they know exactly what you took. How? A combination (they say) of artificial intelligence, cameras that follow you discreetly (ahem…), sensors everywhere. It's a bit like entering a large digital brain that has only one purpose: have the goods taken away for you by paying for them, without you having to make the slightest effort to do so. Have you ever wondered How do they know what you are taking?? Well, the answer lies in this invisible network.
When the shelves “think” for themselves
There is a fascinating (and perhaps a little disturbing) concept behind all this: shelves that are becoming “smart.” They are no longer simple inert shelves of metal or wood. No, these are shelves with sensors, digital labels, sometimes integrated cameras. They sense when you take a product, they know how many are left, they can change the price in real time (yes, you read that right: dynamic pricing, which sounds like something from the Wall Street stock exchange, but applied to a packet of cookies).
When you take the last pack of coffee, the shelf knows it. And it communicates it to the central system. It's a bit like they have a little dedicated brain, just for counting and reporting.. The old manual count? Museum stuff.
The (artificial) intelligence that studies you
But the real orchestra behind the scenes is artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (which sounds more scientific). These systems do more than just count. They analyze your movements in the store, how much time you spend in front of a product, what you look at but don't take. They cross-reference this data with thousands, millions of other customers.
Why? To understand trends, to better position products, to know when to reorder. And (here comes the best part) to reduce what they call “inventory difference,” which is when things disappear from the shelves without being paid for. Let's face it, It is also a remarkably sophisticated anti-shoplifting system. If you try to put something in your pocket, the system sees it. And probably charges you for it anyway.
The advantages… for those who sell
OK, let’s put the “Big Brother” aspect of shopping aside for a moment. For store owners, the benefits are clear and, let’s face it, juicy. Less staff at the checkout means lower costs. Warehouse management becomes almost automatic, goodbye (or almost) to human errors in counting. They can forecast demand more accurately.
And, as mentioned, there is the question of dynamic pricing: If a product sells out, the price may go up a bit; if it is stagnant, it goes down to encourage purchase. In short, a nice qualitative leap for those who manage the shop. It's a bit of a retail theme that as I have already told you here on Futuro Prossimo, it's… well, changing.
Will your grocery shopping (really) be easier?
And for you, customers? Well, the promise is tempting: enter, take, exit. Zero stress from queuing. It’s undeniably convenient, especially if you’re in a hurry. There’s also talk of “personalizing” the experience, with targeted offers displayed on screens on the shelves as you walk by. Does it work? Maybe.
But there is also a downside. How much are you willing to give up your privacy for a little extra comfort? Do you feel comfortable knowing that your every move, every hesitation in front of a shelf, is being recorded and analyzed? Is this the price of freedom from the cart and the checkout?
And the clerks? What happens to them?
This is the question that concerns me the most. What about the human factor? Sure, the self-service checkout is already a reality, but the clerk who smiles at you (or at least tries), the one who helps you find a product, the one you maybe know by sight in the neighborhood store?
In these independent stores, it is said that the staff will be retrained. No longer at the cash register, but "on the floor", helping customers, arranging the goods, solving problems (such as: "sorry, the system charged me for this packet of pasta that I just looked at wrongly"). It is an epochal change in the sector of supermarket of tomorrow. Will it be a real requalification or a simple reduction of jobs, masked behind the noble concept of “customer experience”? The doubt, disillusioned, remains.
Standalone Stores, They're Closer Than You Think
If you think this is something from a movie (but I won't say which one, you understand my hatred for that word), you're wrong. One has appeared in Italy, for example, which promises precisely this “pick up and go out” experience. It’s no longer theory, it’s practice. They are accustoming us to the idea that human contact in shopping is optional, a relic of the past. Efficiency first, comfort above all.
Standalone Stores: The Price of (Too Much?) Convenience
In short, standalone stores are the next frontier of retail. They bring undeniable advantages (for managers) and considerable convenience (for customers). They are yet another demonstration of how technology is entering every fold of our daily lives, often without us noticing it at all, or perhaps pretending not to notice everything. It’s convenient, yes. It’s efficient, no doubt. But have you stopped to think about what you’re giving up in exchange for that handful of minutes saved at the checkout? Privacy? A modicum of human interaction?
The feeling of not being constantly, and I mean steadily, monitored every single step you take between the cookie shelf and the milk shelf? So, the next time you enter one of these temples of digital convenience, as you reach for that bag of chips, remember that dozens, hundreds of digital eyes know exactly what you are doing.
And the system sees you. Always.
