Our lives are changing faster than they have ever changed for the generations before us. As technology improves, this leads to more innovation, which leads to more improvements in technology, which leads to a fast rate of change, and so the cycle repeats. Ourselves and Innovend understand this and are always developing our already industry-leading technology to ensure we are at the forefront of self-service shopping. This philosophy led Innovend to display its latest groundbreaking advancement.
At the prestigious Internorga event in Hamburg, Innovend showcased a ground breaking advancement: people tracking technology designed for unmanned operations in company restaurants, canteens, food shops, and many other applications. This technology promises to revolutionise unmanned sales, making transactions faster, easier, and significantly more profitable for operators.
Sander Sciarone, Director of Innovend, emphasised the significance of this unveiling at Europe’s largest trade fair for catering and hospitality. “Internorga provides the perfect platform for introducing our latest Zuply innovation,” he remarked. Innovend partnered with Qnips, a digital platform specialising in contract catering, to present a live demonstration featuring an unmanned shop within a container on its stand, allowing visitors to experience firsthand how the technology operates.
Collaboration with Colruyt Group
Innovend collaborated closely with Smart Technics, a division of the Belgian retail giant Colruyt Group, to develop this cutting-edge technology. Their previous collaboration resulted in the successful Lynx iQ, a smart fridge introduced in 2023 that garnered an enthusiastic reception. The Lynx iQ resembles a sophisticated display cabinet but functions as a refrigerated vending machine, allowing customers to select products without scanning. The shelves can be segmented, and built-in sensors track product selections, mirroring the supermarket shopping experience.
Enhanced Efficiency with People Tracking
While not entirely new, people tracking technology significantly enhances operational efficiency. It uses cameras to monitor customer movements commonly employed in supermarkets to analyse consumer behaviour. With Zuply people tracking, customers can identify themselves via an app, access smart refrigerators, select products, and pay seamlessly – even accommodating multiple customers simultaneously. Partner apps such as qnips and Spar support Zuply people tracking, available on major app stores, with future compatibility planned for bank cards.
Optimising Customer Experience and Operator Efficiency
The system’s ability to handle multiple customers concurrently streamlines the purchasing process, eliminating wait times typical in traditional vending setups. Sander emphasised the system’s focus on privacy, clarifying that it tracks movements without storing personal data or identities, ensuring customer privacy.
Versatile Applications Beyond Food Retail
While showcased at a food fair, Innovend envisions broader applications across various sectors, including retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Sander highlighted potential applications in hospitals and nursing homes, demonstrating the technology’s adaptability beyond traditional retail environments.
Looking Ahead
Innovend plans to pilot the solution at select locations this year, anticipating strong interest from diverse industries seeking to enhance operational efficiency and customer service with cutting-edge technology.
Other European countries have always been ahead of the UK in vending technology, but it won’t be long before the team at Vending by JSR has this technology ready to distribute to the UK. The question remains: are you ready to accept this new way of shopping?