Can the 'supermarket of the future' jump from Italy to the US?

AUTHOR

Carolyn Heneghan

PUBLISHED

Dec. 23, 2016

Dive Brief:

• Coop Italia, the leading supermarket chain in Italy, has opened its Supermarket of the Future store, according to a news release. 
• Coop Italia partnered with Accenture to overhaul the open-air market's information architecture.
• Tech developments at the new future-facing store include interactive tables consumers can wave their hand over for more product information, vertical shelving for better browsing opportunities and real-time data visualization.

Dive Insight:

Coop Italia's new supermarket of the future aims to combine "hyper personalization, deep product information and connected devices in-line with customer buying journeys," according to the news release. These developments align with trends that have been popular among consumers in other contexts, so combining them in one grocery retail experience is the next step in elevating the shopping experience.

Also key here is another layer of transparency in the shopping experience, which consumers increasingly demand of food and beverage manufacturers and retailers today. Consumers want product information to be easily accessible and visible, and this store's display screens could be popular among consumers that don't have smartphones needed for other transparency initiatives, such as scannable QR codes.

Retailers continually seek ways to develop customer loyalty by developing unique shopping experiences over other grocery retail options. Amazon Go and other retailers have developed shopping experiences without the need for checkout lanes. But this supermarket of the future takes the loyalty-building strategy one step further by addressing pertinent consumer demands, such as transparency and personalization.