Monop’, Groupe Casino‘s convenience formula, has opened a ‘phygital’ city store of the latest generation in Paris: it combines sustainability, food service, e-commerce and remarkable services with an unmanned area that remains open 24/7.
Bulk products
The 250 m² store reopened on Wednesday in the Rue de Marseille in the tenth arrondissement of the French capital. This latest generation Monop’ aims to become a real hotspot for the neighbourhood and takes up a role that is complementary to e-commerce and the speedy delivery services that are emerging in cities. That is why the concept distinguishes itself not only with a surprising assortment but also with a remarkable range of services.
At the entrance, there is a food service counter where passers-by can buy coffee, breakfast, sandwiches, waffles, chips, churros and nuggets, prepared on-site. Further on, shoppers will find a wide range of fresh products with local and seasonal products, cheese and cold cuts, freshly baked bread, cut flowers… In the food range, the private label accounts for 40% of the offer. Many products are offered in bulk: this is the case for pet food, ecological cleaning products, beer, pulses, Carambar and M&M’s sweets, and organic dairy products from Les 2 Vaches.
Unmanned zone
The store also serves as a pick-up point for online orders and has an unmanned area of 30 m² that remains open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Customers access this unmanned store with their bank card and can then choose from an assortment of 300 references. An ingenious weighing system automatically identifies the products. Shoppers can then validate the receipt at a kiosk and pay. Casino already tested this technology last year in a ‘Black Box’ at the head office of Monoprix and is now bringing the concept to a store for the first time.
This Monop’ also wants to play a social role in the neighbourhood and works together with the crowdsourcing platform Ulule to support local associations. Ecotextile collects old clothes, Linkee combats food waste by collecting almost expired products and donating them to charity organisations. Very noteworthy is a free lending service called “Je m’appelle reviens“: customers can come and borrow a raclette machine, a printer or even an electric guitar for 48 hours. Finally, this is also the first Monop’ with its own Instagram account, which has the ambition to animate neighbourhood life.
