Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt is testing a system that allows customers to make their shopping lists through Google Assistant. The system records what customers ask, then suggests products based on the customer’s previous orders.
Shopping list
“Together with our customers, we will see if voice technology is an efficient tool to prepare a shopping list”, marketing director Guy Elewaut says. “The test is used to determine if our customers can make their lists even easier this way.” Lacking a Belgian version, the system will currently use the Dutch and French version of the Google Assistant software. Testers can ask their Android smartphone or any other device that has Google Assistant to create a list that is saved onto the MyColruyt app and profile on the website.
When customers want to add some water for example, there is no need to manually add it to the list. Just saying “water” will add the kind of water that they previously ordered most often to the list – if needed this can be changed afterwards through the app or website. When finished, they can either forward it to Colruyt’s Collect&Go service or keep it on the app and easily check every item getting it in the store.
Most analysts believe voice commerce will make a big impact on the retail sector. Other countries are already seeing trials with the technology, such as Albert Heijn‘s in the Netherlands and Carrefour‘s in France.
