Industry Insights

The shopping experience of the future

An interview with Oliver Görlich - Managing Partner of J.D. Geck GmbH
 

What do you think the "supermarket of the future" looks like?
The supermarket of the future will offer a completely new shopping experience through the use of modern technologies. The focus is on improving efficiency, comfort and experience orientation for consumers. Innovative technologies make shopping faster and easier, giving customers more time for other activities. At the same time, the supermarket becomes a place where shopping is not only functional, but also eventful and individual.

Through personalized offers that are adapted to the needs of customers in real time, and a user-friendly navigation within the market, shopping becomes more intuitive and convenient. The supermarket of the future will increasingly focus on the expectations and wishes of consumers, thus offering them an even more pleasant and efficient shopping experience.

What possibilities do store managers already have to optimize the shopping experience in the interests of their customers?
Store managers already have various possibilities to optimize the shopping experience in the interests of their customers. An important measure is the targeted branch design, which stands out from the classic shop construction. Through an innovative store architecture that relies on open, clear structures, customers can cross the market better and faster, which makes shopping more pleasant. In addition, there are modern technologies that create a multi-sensory experience - from interactive displays to loyalty programs and gamification in everyday shopping to self-checkout and click-and-collect options.

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    Learn more about the UltimateShopper Plus

UltimateShopper Plus: The smart shopping car

Core business: Development and production of goods carriers © J.D. Geck GmbH

What are the advantages, but also special challenges, when it comes to self-checkout?
A significant advantage of self-checkout is the accelerated payment process and the feeling of self-determination. The customer can make smaller purchases faster because he does not have to queue in long lines at classic checkouts. The pace of the purchasing process can be determined by customers themselves, which brings significantly more flexibility to everyday shopping. For retailers, there is a clear advantage through significant cost savings. Personnel costs can be reduced because fewer cash registers are needed. In addition, customer satisfaction and the probability of another market visit will be sustainably increased. Thanks to our UltimateShopper, the purchased items can easily remain in the shopping cart compared to the stationary self-checkout checkouts, because the scanning process of the goods by the customer during the purchase replaces the scanning at the checkout and speeds up the payment process even more. In contrast, customers who are not familiar with the technology or avoid the use of digital tools. Especially for older people, technology is a big problem in everyday life, because they often perceive technical devices as complicated and less user-friendly. The solution represents hybrid markets that offer both the traditional purchasing process and smart purchasing.

How can you technically counteract, for example, to prevent thefts during self-scanning or self-checkout and to reduce the rate of non-purchases?
The UltimateShopper Plus is based on three technologies that effectively combat theft. On the one hand, integrated load cells on the floor grate of the car are used to check the weight of the inserted article. In addition, an AI uses stored image data of the articles to check whether it is actually the inserted product in the correct number. A third theft prevention is the comparison of the current location with the scanned goods. In the event of discrepancies, an employee can be notified via our instant messenger. In addition, an LED light ring lights up to draw attention to a possible deviation and thus give the consumer feedback.


Thanks to the UltimateShopper Plus, long lines in the supermarket could soon be a thing of the past. What new features offer customers additional assistance when shopping (for example, with regard to the options for unlocking the shopping cart and functions that can be accessed from the display)?
Thanks to the built-in hybrid deposit lock on our UltimateShopper, it is already possible to unlock the car with the help of your smartphone or a deposit coin. If desired, the customer can transfer his previously created shopping list to the tablet, making the purchase even more efficient and convenient. With the UltimateShopper Plus, we not only optimize the waiting times at the checkouts, but also offer customers a variety of other functions that make the shopping experience even more pleasant. Our intelligent navigation system allows customers to find the ideal way to their desired products.

The exact customer position allows them to implement retail media strategies in a targeted manner by playing location-based, personalized offers and shopping list-based recommendations in real time on digital signage monitors in the market and the tablet on the car. This not only increases the probability of purchase and promotes cross- and upselling, but also opens up the possibility of obtaining cashback from suppliers through the marketing of advertised products. At the same time, running paths and movement patterns provide valuable insights to optimize supply placement, so that products can be strategically repositioned.

For markets that want to continue using their existing shopping carts, we offer a tailor-made retrofit solution. This uses the proven functions and technologies of the UltimateShopper Plus, but is integrated as a plug-in unit on the existing shopping cart. The central features of the UltimateShopper Retrofit include position detection and AIsupported computer vision. Only the weight-based theft protection cannot be carried out with our retrofit solution.

More information about the J.D. Geck GmbH can be found here: Geck – Mehr Kompetenz für den Point of Sale.