Disinfection Robotics in Retail

Another example of robotics addressing problems of today.

Ahold Delhaize’s RBS pilots UV disinfection robots

Ava Robotics technology aids COVID-19 cleaning in two distribution centers

Russell Redman 1 | Jan 08, 2021 

Ahold Delhaize USA’s Retail Business Services (RBS) arm is testing ultraviolet disinfection robots in two distribution centers to support stepped-up cleaning procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Cambridge, Mass.-based Ava Robotics, the UV disinfection robots are now being used in a pilot at Ahold Delhaize’s affiliated DCs in Schodack, N.Y., and Dunn, N.C. In announcing the initiative on Friday, Ava said Ahold Delhaize is the first grocery retailer to employ the technology .... " 

More on Ahold's Cashierless Solution

More on Ahold's use of 'Cashierless' stores.   The provider of the tech was mentioned here before.  More detail at the link.

Ahold Delhaize's 'NanoStore' heads to the airport    in GroceryDive

Dive Brief:

Ahold Delhaize’s Albert Heijn grocery chain is piloting its 150-square-foot "NanoStore" at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the fourth busiest international airport in the world​, according to a press release.

The portable store, engineered by technology company AiFi​, is open now through January at the airport's Jan Dallaert Square area. It was transported on a trailer from its original test location at Albert Heijn's headquarters, where it opened in September.

Shoppers have to use a debit card at the door to gain entry to the store. Then they can shop for products and just walk out. Upon exit, customers can verify their purchases against the receipt. No cash is accepted ..... "

Ahold Testing Cashierless

More on Ahold's working on cashierless stores.

Ahold has a go at cashierless store format    By Dan Berthiaume in CSA

A major supermarket conglomerate is taking a page from Amazon’s grocery playbook.

Ahold Delhaize USA, which operates supermarket banners including Food Lion, Giant, and Stop & Shop, is piloting a new frictionless store environment. Called “Lunchbox” and developed by the company’s Retail Business Services subsidiary, the format enables customers to scan in, shop, and walk out without having to stop at any type of checkout terminal.

Currently being tested at Retail Business Services’ office in Quincy, Mass., Lunchbox is powered by a Retail Business Services proprietary app that admits shoppers to the store and charges them for purchases. Payment services such as PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are integrated into the app’s wallet.   .... "

Giant Food for Frictionless Checkouts

There has been some suggestion that Amazon is backing off the idea, except in narrow contexts.  But recently there has been a newly opened store.  Here new word in the spec from Ahold, who we worked with  on several advanced tech applications, though not this one.   This includes specific description of the process, which is different than I have seen.

Have Giant Food and Stop & Shop nailed ‘frictionless’ checkouts?  includes further expert comments.   In Retailwire  By George Anderson

Retail Business Services, the technology services arm of Ahold Delhaize USA, has announced that its proprietary ScanIt Mobile frictionless checkout technology is being rolled out to nearly 30 of the grocer’s stores by the end of the year. The tech is being deployed at all of the new Giant Heirloom Markets and select Stop & Shop stores.

Customers using the ScanIt mobile app walk shop the store scanning products they wish to purchase as they go. When finished, customers go through a designated checkout lane where they see a “payment approved” message before exiting the store. Payments are processed through customers’ mobile wallets. The service accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo.

Individuals who prefer may also use handheld ScanIt devices supplied by the store. Here too, they scan products as they move around the store before transferring the information to the mobile app on their phones to check out. ,,, "

Stop and Shop has Robots in the Aisle

How they are being used is still unclear, but this could get customers used to the idea of robots in the aisle.   Pictures of the bots show an attempt to be humorous.   Perhaps until they got in the way.

Marty the robot may take your picture, but his corporate owners say he doesn't want to spy on you. by Jessica McKenzie  in Engadget

I met Marty in the produce section of a Stop & Shop in Bristol, Rhode Island. I was looking for vegetables to grill over hot coals, while Marty roamed the aisles, big, round eyes staring vacantly ahead, searching for spills and other hazards—with electric sensors strategically placed on its tall, rectangular form. Marty, you see, is a supermarket robot.

Since January, the northeastern supermarket chain Stop & Shop has introduced more than 200 robots to stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. This month the company will begin rolling Marty out to stores in New York. By the end of the year, there will be more than 300 robots in Stop & Shop stores and nearly 200 more in Giant stores, another supermarket chain owned by the Netherlands-based parent company, Ahold Delhaize.  .... " 

Ahold Giant Foods to Roll out Robots

Note the planned use for operational process.  But also being in the store and interacting to some degree with customers?

NRF: Roving robots report for work at all Giant Foods’ stores  By Tom Ryan in Retailwire

At the NRF Big Show in New York on Monday, Nick Bertram, president at Giant Foods, revealed that the supermarket chain is rolling out “Marty,” a 6’3” robotic assistant, to all 172 of its stores.

Nearly 500 robots will be deployed out across Giant Foods and Stop & Shop, also owned by Ahold Delhaize, in what Steven Platt, research director, Retail Analytics Council, who also participated in the session, ranked as the largest robotics rollout at retail in the world.

Marty will be initially used to identify hazards, such as liquid, powder and bulk food item spills, and alert associates to do clean-ups. Planogram compliance and in-stock monitoring is expected next.

At the NRF session, Mr. Bertram said a surprise in the pilot of the robot was that customers weren’t intimated, but “actually loved” the robot. Including “googly eyes” added a “little bit more fun” to the robot’s appearance. He said, “[Marty] did freak some of them out, but especially children found that having a live robot in a supermarket is exciting.”  ....  '

Ahold Delhaize Focusing Digital Efforts

Have been impressed wth AHold efforts over the years, now with a lab for Digital:

Ahold Delhaize focuses its digital efforts
By Rachel England, @rachel_england   in Progressive Grocer

Ahold Delhaize is launching a new department in the US called Peapod Digital Labs to drive its e-commerce efforts, ramp up digital sales and hone in on its personalization efforts. The company named JJ Fleeman president and chief e-commerce officer of the new arm.  ... "

AHold Partnership for AI Research

A major retailer makes an interesting play.   To better compete with the likes of Wal-mart and Amazon I am sure.  Some intriguing details.

Ahold Delhaize joins partnership for AI research

Ahold Delahize is launching a partnership with a Dutch research group to study how artificial intelligence can create better recommendations for shoppers. Another focus for the company's partnership with the Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence will be better management of the movement of inventories.  .... " 

Ahold Digital Strategy

Considerable detail in this Progressive Grocer piece.

Ahold's digital strategy pays off
Ahold USA has seen success with a new digital strategy that has brought on 1 million new digital users, increased monthly app usage by 76% and driven a 179% increase in digital coupon activation over last year, the company reported. Ahold's new strategy focuses on enhancing promotions, personalization, and as a result, loyalty through investments in more relevant digital coupons, an improved mobile app, a recipe center, new sites and other digital tools. .... " 

Ahold Optimizes Customer Data

How Ahold USA Optimizes Customer data

Collecting customer data and figuring out how to use it is a challenge for all retailers, one that Ahold USA has met by managing its data to help the company make decisions about different shopper segments and target the selection and prices of its merchandise, according to Nick Bertram, the retailer's senior vice president of merchandising strategy and support. "Customers aren't in one spot. They are omnichannel, and they need to see us in print, online, in their phones and everywhere they go. We're not limiting ourselves. We're just trying to be smarter in every place we play in," Bertram said. ... " 

National Retail Federation (5/23) 

Videolocators Case Study

Some time ago I mentioned the Videolocators startup.  Which uses some intriguing SEO methods.  Ed Burns, their CEO sends along a case study of the service which " ... serves two groups – those who need help finding lost family, loved ones (or the wanted), and those who want to help. Those that need help can post their information at Video Locators for FREE. If they want to include social media marketing, this is at less than $14/month ... "

A case study:
" ... The worst thing that can ever happen to a parent is to lose a child, whether by separation, divorce, abduction or otherwise. Imagine the devastation that a mother or father feels when a child is missing because a parent stepped outside the law and did what they thought was best for them and a child, instead of what was really best for the child. It is very emotional to suddenly feel the cruelness of an ex-spouse taking a child away. ... "

Behavior and Decisions in Organizations

A very nice piece in Bain&Company, Why we Behave and Decide the way we do.   Lots of information out there on why individuals act the way they do.  Even aspects of group behavior.  But how do individuals behave within an organization as a result?  How do they then decide?   This does not solve the problem, but can indicate what to look for.   Again, it is all about the resulting decisions.  "... Organizational ailments, such as too much complexity, often interfere with good business decision making and execution. But they aren’t the only source of trouble. We human beings are even more complicated than a tangled org chart or a messy decision. We are prisoners of emotions, habits and biases. We choose A rather than B for reasons that we often don’t understand. These pitfalls can ensnare individuals who are making decisions; they can also cause groups to go astray.  The good news: If you’re aware of the traps, you are far less likely to be snared by them. In this article, we highlight four reasons people decide the way they do. ..." 

Sands Partners with NVISO

Just announced.  A natural interaction capability for neuromarketing work.  Surprised it it not more often done. Directly linking facial imaging with neuroscience technology. With emotion analysis. Taking that mobile is a further plus.

Measuring Advertising

Measurement of outcomes is always interesting to me, so this led to the announcement below:

The Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative (WCAI) and the SEI Center's Future of Advertising Program (SEI FoA) are pleased to announce a conference ( Thursday, May 16, 2013) focusing on new ways to measure advertising effectiveness. This fast-paced, one-day program will feature presentations on research projects that were selected to receive grants from WCAI and SEI FoA last year, along with commentary from a number of well-recognized practitioners. Presentations will cover a wide range of cutting-edge approaches to gauging advertising’s effectiveness including:

Field experiments
Advertising models: going beyond marketing mix and attribution
Combining experimental and non-experimental data
New measurement techniques: eye tracking and emotional response

To encourage a lively discussion on what these cutting-edge findings mean for today’s marketing analytics professionals, the program will feature short research presentations combined with panel discussions. The highlight of the day will be a keynote from Deb Roy, an expert in data-driven methods for analyzing and modeling human linguistic and social behavior, and founder of Bluefin Labs (recently acquired by Twitter).

The full agenda and registration information can be viewed here.

Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative
t: 215-746-4161 | e: wcai-mail@wharton.upenn.edu 
http://wcai.wharton.upenn.edu 

Ahold Boosts Online

In Food Business News, another major retailer pushes online. " ... Ahold USA, which reports that sales increased 3% in fiscal 2012, to $25.8 billion, says it will build business by offering more private-label products and by boosting online shopping. The company has opened nine Peapod pickup points and is planning more. .. " 

Human Robot Relationships

A good overview piece.  A review of some of Sherry Turkle's work.   We examined this when we looked at Japanese work on robot companions and help mates.   The idea continues to evolve.  Are we ready to integrate the emotional components?  Old Outer Limits TV shows come to mind.  This also overlaps with gamification  principles. 

Tamagotchi Emerges Again in Gamification

More than a dozen years ago we looked at Bandai's Tamagotchi pets as a potential model for consumer engagement.  The basic idea was an early look at what we now call gamification.  Or using gaming principles in improve interaction between people and machines.   Looking back at my notes of the time, the Tamagothci model, and the principles we lernde, were not far wrong.   The idea worked well and powerfully in carefully focused areas. Much less so in others.  I think there are still some excellent gamification learnings to to gained from them.   I had  lost track of their popularity or even availability, but it turns out they are now back, not unexpectedly as smartphone Apps.  Thinking of them as Apps is a useful, compact way of taking the experiment further.  How will this work differently from the way they were delivered then?  That will provide new ways of comparing physical versus virtual emotional engagement.  Has Bandai looked at this?

Facial Analysis and the Brand

In Mediapost: A good example  of a non conscious detection of brand engagement i.e. 'neuromarketing' capability.  Here using the analysis of faces during stimulus  exposure as opposed to in-brain signals.  Here taken up by some big and savvy clients in CPG.  I have written here about Affectiva here before.  We tested the idea while it was still being developed at MIT.  " ... Affectiva was one of "The 5 Most Disruptive Technologies" at the 2013 Consumer Electronic Show.... "    .... This should be watched.

" ... Almost a year ago, WPP’s commercial testing company Millward Brown added facial recognition and analysis technology to its offering to better assess the emotional impact of ads. It did so through a partnership with Affectiva, a firm that developed a facial coding technique called Affdex.  Now, after a series of trials, major global clients are signing on to the new testing application. Calling it the largest-scale adaptation of facial coding technology in the industry, Millward said two of its largest clients -- Unilever and The Coca-Cola Co. -- will use the technique for all of their advertising testing in 2013.... " 

True Impact Neuromarketing

Recently connected with Diana Lucaci of True Impact Marketing in Toronto. A Canadian firm that does neuromarketing studies.   I was impressed with their list of clients and analytical perception of the problem.

See also, their blog for examples.

" ... Our company is a leading Neuromarketing firm in Canada, with two main businesses segments: Strategy and Research. Neuromarketing Strategy involves alignment with your marketing and corporate objectives, identifying the gap in customer understanding, and delivering actionable insights of customer emotional engagement.   Neuromarketing Research is conducted with a specific, target audience and studies communications that appeal to any of the 5 senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. Research grade equipment and protocols are used to ensure the highest level of ethical standards. Our technologies of choice include functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Eye-Tracking.... " 

New Neuroscience Consultancy

Rafal Ohme, a former colleague in neuromarketing applications, has started a London based consultancy.  There will be more here as I get to talk to them.  FromMrWeb:  " ... The new company promises to draw on advances in neuroscience to help brands understand the emotional and subconscious aspects of consumer decision-making, and formulate strategies in areas such as communications and product testing, in-store and shopper marketing, and identity development. Additionally, the company offers tailored workshops to provide a better understanding of how to utilise neuroscience techniques alongside existing methodologies and business processes. ... "