Food
Robots fill the shelves at various neighbourhood supermarkets in Japan. After an initial trial, franchise chain FamilyMart is so enthusiastic that it wants to employ at least twenty by 2022.
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Dutch online supermarket Picnic has raised 250 million euros to build an automated distribution centre, that should be able to provide 150,000 families with groceries every week.
Retailer Valora opened a registerless convenience store in Zurich last Friday. Store access and payment are both handled by an app.
Electronics
Albert Heijn showed his latest innovation at a conference: a delivery robot. The aim is to extensively test the robot on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.
General
Russian chain Lenta employed seven robots in its Moscow-based supermarkets. The Promobots will greet the returning customers by name, show new products and help with discounts.
Ahold USA is currently trialing a robot in a Giant Food Store. Its job is to detect dangers and then ask for assistance. He can also point out empty shelves and check prices.
m-Tail
For the first time in its history, British supermarket chain Tesco home-delivered a customer’s online order using a robot
Smart refrigerators, smart pedal bins and talking robots are just a few of the innovations currently headlining at the CES technology convention in Las Vegas. These developments are also beyond interesting to retailers.
French supermarket chain Auchan is testing robots that can carry groceries for the customers. The WiiGO robot is set to perform its first test at the Auchan store in Englos, near Lille.
