Photo provided by the National Retail Federation. NRF Big Show 2026 Report One would be guilty of hyperbole to say that the NRF Big Show in New York City has become the largest self-service technology show in the world. But a veteran attendee can certainly say the number of unattended service exhibits has surged every year, driven by… Read More »
Photo provided by the Consumer Technology Association. Tech Report from Las Vegas Everyone knows AI is changing the way we live. What became obvious walking the CES show this week is that everything from making the morning coffee to using the toilet to knowing the best route to get to wherever you’re going when you leave the house… Read More »
Service and Vending Much has been reported about new capabilities of self service equipment thanks to technology, but when it comes to vending, one maxim has never changed since the time Hero of Tesibus is believed to have invented a coin-operated machine to dispense sacrificial water in ancient Egypt: Service makes the difference. In vending industry parlance, “service”… Read More »
Customer experience, theft prevention, inventory transparency and more take center stage RetailNOW panel explores rising RFID use cases With technologies improving many aspects of retail operations, one longtime standby not to be overlooked thanks to its convenience and versatility is radio frequency identification (RFID). Best known for simplifying inventory management, RFID has evolved to improve the customer experience… Read More »
Change of Plans for Sweetgreen Robots Excerpt: “I don’t think you’ll see them in every single store for the reason that we have a lot of older smaller stores in the D.C. area and Philadelphia, and we would probably not go back and retrofit,” Reback said. “We’ve disclosed that 50% of new stores will use the Infinite Kitchen… Read More »
QR Code Repeat Visits + Pandemic Energizes QR Codes February 2021 article from Pymmnts.com — Excerpt: QR codes have become more commonplace than ever as the pandemic continues, with one study last year finding that roughly 11 million United States households were expected to scan QR codes by the end of 2020. Consumers most commonly used QR codes for contactless… Read More »
Automated Retail UV Disinfection Robots Full article on ProgressiveGrocer Jan 2021 — Retail Business Services (RBS), the services company of grocery Ahold Delhaize USA, has launched a pilot of UV disinfection robots from Ava Robotics in two of its affiliated distribution centers to aid in enhanced cleaning procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of… Read More »
Automated Pickup Kiosks Albertsons From GroceryDive Jan2021 Dive Brief: Albertsons has installed an automated kiosk at a Jewel-Osco store in Chicago, the grocer announced Thursday, and plans to install another kiosk at a Safeway store in San Francisco in the near future. The kiosks, which are manufactured by Estonia-based Cleveron, hold products in two temperature zones — regular and… Read More »
News link Jan2021 Excerpt: The prototype can carry packages weighing up to 30 kilograms, and travel at a speed of 6 kilometers per hour, slightly faster than walking pace. Built-in cameras and sensors enable the robot to wait at red lights and avoid pedestrians and cars. The ongoing trials aim to determine if the robot can be safely… Read More »
With Off-Prem in Mind, Spyce Relaunches Concept Hospitality Tech — By Anna Wolfe, Senior Editor – Restaurants – 11/10/2020 Excerpt: Spyce, a robotic kitchen that came on the scene in 2018, is reopening today in Boston. The concept has been redesigned with off-premises in mind. “… We’ve reinvented the way we cook and how customers can truly personalize their meals.… Read More »
