Just a couple of decades ago, the Star Trek food synthesizer seemed like something from a very distant future.
Now, these amazing machines look like they just might be the ideal retailer for the “don’t touch my food era” we suddenly find ourselves living in.
In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, what can be more perfect?
Brittain Ladd, an ex-Amazon, Micro-fulfillment, Retail, and Logistics expert, says that retail stores should become large vending machines.
It makes good sense. Since retailers are suffering a severe impact due to the disruption created in the past few weeks, they’ll need to transition to this new reality, post-coronavirus.
“Grocery stores and other retailers will operate more like large vending machines in the coming years as fulfillment becomes automated inside the store. Contrary to what retail experts claim, customers will not want to linger inside a store any longer than necessary,” Ladd explained.
“Consumers will migrate from shopping inside a store to buying online instead and picking up at a store or buying online for home delivery. Speed to the customer and frictionless checkout is the future of retail.”
Perhaps curbside pickups isn’t just a new-yet-passing thing due to COVID-19 – good chances are it will actually remain popular for years to come.
Though consumers are slowly expected to return to dining out habits and grocery shopping in-store, this won’t happen all at once. Fear, anxiety, availability, and so many other contributing factors could slow the whole comeback.
And so, food delivery services need to prepare for a lower footfall than some might expect, once the pandemic passes. And supermarkets will roll out new products such as drop-off options or new delivery areas. They must.
Some Food for Thought
This is where things seem to be going anyhow. The corona pandemic is just pushing things faster in that direction.
Four years ago, the most advanced ML and computer AI were implemented in Amazon Go’s shopping technology. All you do is swipe your Amazon phone at the entrance of the store and start shopping. Amazon’s “Just Walk Out Technology” adds it up to your virtual cart.
Last year, robotic micro-fulfillment centers were created. In March 2019, Fabric (formerly CommonSense Robotics) launched the world’s first on-demand delivery fulfillment – by robots. Robots literally pull the items that you order from storage, like toothpaste, coffee, or diapers, making 1-hour grocery delivery a scalable option.
Other innovations helping to create a more seamless shopping and checkout experience include Trigo Vision’s ceiling cameras that identify product when the buyer puts it in the cart, Caper’s smart shopping cart, and more.
But the future of supermarkets is yet to come. Like this drive-through concept of a supermarket in which customers will purchase without leaving their cars. (Perfect for COVID-19!)
Whatever the future of retail holds – we hope it does it with gloves.