“The biggest smart store in the world” opened in Leiria (and you don’t even need to take the items out of your bag to pay)

The first Continente Bom Dia store to operate with Artificial Intelligence technology was opened in Leiria, which allows you to pay for products without having to register them manually.

It’s “a store that is different from all“, notes Luís Moutinho, the CEO of the company responsible for the project, MC, highlighting that “it is the largest smart store in the world” that was born “in a year in which the [marca] celebrates 40 years.”

Therefore, it is “a special moment”, highlights Luís Moutinho, informing that the Bom Dia Leiria São Romão store had a investment of six million eurosof which 1.5 were allocated to Sensei technologya Portuguese start-up.

The inauguration was attended by the Minister of Youth and Modernization, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, who had the opportunity to see how shopping works in the space.

In this place of retail salethe customer just needs to do their shopping normally, removing products from the shelves, purchasing fresh products or even a simple coffee.

In the end, you can choose caixas “smart checkout”which automates the entire purchase. You don’t even need to take the products out of the basket and do the traditional scanning.

The bill is presented immediately and, after checking it, you just need to pay.

“Wow” effect

“Our dream is promote the ‘wow’ effect to customerswhich is arriving at the box and not having to do anything”, explains Luís Moutinho.

“From day one, we believed in a hybrid store, because we want the customer experience to be completely normal and smooth”, adds the CEO, explaining that, when leaving the store, people can do “a traditional ‘checkout’” with an employee who is on the checkout line, but if they want to have “the ‘wow’ effect”, they can then do the ‘smart checkout’.

The company explains, in a statement, that this “smart checkout” works “through computer visionArtificial Intelligence algorithms and sensorized shelves with scales“.

The technology allows for the autonomous and real-time creation of each customer’s virtual cart.

“The biggest smart store in the world”

The store has an area of ​​1200 square meters covered by Sensei technology, which makes it “the biggest smart store in the world”says Luís Moutinho.

This commercial space in São Romão has six autonomous boxes (“smart checkouts” and “self checkouts”) and two manual checkouts.

The parking lot has 55 spaces and four charging stations for electric vehicles.

Luís Moutinho also ensures that the store is equipped with photovoltaic panels “with 30% self-consumption”, uses low-energy light bulbs and has the fresh produce protected with doors to reduce consumption.

Technology can distinguish “12 thousand different product references”

The president of Sensei, Vasco Portugal, says that what can be seen in the store is “the state of the art of Artificial Intelligence applied to retail“.

“In practice, this store has around 12 thousand different product references. Each one has around 20 to 50 units and all of them are displayed on the shelves”, notes Vasco Portugal, highlighting that technology has “the ability to distinguish each of these products”.

These products “can be smaller than a handare at a distance of approximately three meters and from an angle that is not necessarily the best, but we thought a little more about what the customer experience is: how make this invisible to the customer”, further analyzes Vasco Portugal.

The president of Sensei also considers that this Artificial Intelligence system will also contribute to the reduction in theftsince all products that are collected by the customer are registered and if they are not paid for at checkout they will be detected.

The objective is not to reduce jobs

Luís Moutinho also guarantees that the company does not intend to “remove employees from the stores”, noting that the group is one of the largest private employers in Portugal.

“MC employs 44 thousand people and this store has 28 new colleagues“, he emphasizes.

“We don’t even want to reduce the social interactions we have with our customers, but we believe that digital is itself too facilitator of our business“, he adds.

MC has 17 stores in the Leira district and employs 1329 employees.