Mar 24, 2020, 19:44 PM by Alfredo Martinez

Technology has undoubtedly changed how we do business. Whether in healthcare, banking, or education industry, technology has disrupted the world now more than ever. And now, gone are the days when we trudge our shopping carts around grocery stores or wait tirelessly in line at check-out counters because technology is already catching up in the food-retail industry – and it is all for a greater good.

Here are the four revolutionary ways supermarkets are using technology to change the food retail industry:

Augmented Reality

AR has greatly helped improve the shopping experience of customers over the past few years. In 2018, Walmart added AR functionality to its app.  With just a scan of the smartphone on products, information such as product name, price, and star rating are shown right through the screen. These greatly help customers compare products and get additional information about their purchases instantly right in the palm of their hands.

Improving in-store experience and easy store map navigation through AR has the potential for retailers to increase revenue by engaging clients into a real store experience.

Check-out Free Shopping

“Grab-and-go” you may have heard a lot about this marketing line from Amazon Go and Walmart cashier-less stores, it is because some leading supermarkets are applying a “no check-out counter” to improve in-store customer experience. Through the use of Artificial Intelligence and technology-backed solutions to facilitate smoother shopping transactions, shoppers can literally just grab a product and go out the store without paying at a check-out counter (payments are directly billed through shopper’s credit card linked to the store’s app) or shoppers scan items with a store app, select products and then leave.

Home Delivery

Tired of the long drive to the grocery store or just doesn’t have enough time to go shopping? Don’t worry, home delivery grocery got you covered! This emerging trend in grocery shopping has changed the game for most leading food-retail companies in the US. Companies like AmazonFresh and Walmart Grocery have jumped onto this bandwagon. Just order online, select from a variety of food product choices, and have it delivered righto your doorstep within a pre-determined time period. It’s that simple! No more driving to and from the store, no waiting in line, and more time for you to do some other stuff.

Touch Screens

Touch screens have been widely used on handheld gadgets for some time now, but interactive touchscreens in the food-retail industry is also becoming a thing. From flashy merchandise display banners to touchscreen kiosks, this technology has improved customer experience as it shows information about the store, store displays and sometimes product discounts and sales.

The sky is the limit when it comes to technological innovations especially in the food retail industry. Who would’ve thought that we would go from shopping at a grocery store to purchasing our food products online, right? We have impeccably revolutionized and disrupted the industry in one way or another and in 10 years, who knows what the future could hold?