DISCUSSION
Will smart shelves work for Hannaford and its customers?
Written by RetailWire Staff
Photo: Getty Images
Grocery shoppers at the new, tech-enhanced Hannaford concept will find information on the products they're buying easily available, right when they lift them off the shelf.
Hannaford, the 181-store regional U.S. supermarket chain owned by Ahold Delhaize, has been piloting a new concept with a few significant high-tech enhancements, according to Central Maine. The concept, currently limited to one store, features touch screens adjacent to smart shelves in some categories. When shoppers pick products from shelves, it signals the touchscreens to display relevant product information. Other new tech includes LED displays showing ads in some refrigerated cases and a touch screen kiosk in the pharmacy customers can use to get information on medicines.
The touch screen/smart shelf integration is a first for Hannaford, but it's one of many attempts by grocers to make use of technology at the shelf to enhance the shopping experience.
Kroger, for instance, has been slowly increasing the size of its smart shelf pilot over the last few years. The solution offers personal pricing and product selections to customers on their mobile devices as sensors detect their presence in store aisles.
Smart shelves are also emerging as a potential solution to support Just Walk Out technology. Zippin, a provider creating a Just Walk Out solution that's competitive with Amazon Go, touts smart shelf technology that can determine whether a product has been moved as the key to its enhanced accuracy.