Circle K owner announces Standard Cognition autonomous checkout pilot
Alimentation Couche-Tard, which operates close to 14,500 convenience stores worldwide, including under the Circle K brand, has selected Standard Cognition to pilot autonomous checkout technology.
The two are laying claim to the world’s first convenience store retrofitted with AI technology, located in the Phoenix, AZ area, with other ones to follow. Customers will be able to walk in, select items, and walk out, without having to scan anything or wait in line to pay.
Standard will be integrating with Circle K’s existing systems and working with its current store layout, fixtures and lighting, as well as the existing inventory management and replenishment processes.
There will be no shelf sensors in the Circle K store; instead, Standard leverages ceiling-mounted cameras as well as proprietary AI and machine vision software to associate each shopper with the items they pick up, without using biometric data.
In this first store, customers will be able to pay via a smartphone app, or via cash or credit/debit card at a kiosk or by visiting a traditional cashier station.
“Autonomous checkout is one of our innovation priorities that enable us to make our customers’ lives a little easier every day. We thoroughly evaluated the market and realised that working with Standard presented significant benefits since they could integrate with our existing systems and retrofit our existing stores,” says Magnus Tägtström, Head of Global Digital Innovation at Alimentation Couche-Tard.
“We will not have to relocate merchandise, replace shelves or build an entirely new store to implement autonomous checkout. We are excited to partner with Standard to try this technology in some of our stores worldwide.”