Queuing at the supermarket counter to get your groceries paid? With nowadays’ disruptions in technology this has become redundant. Whether you go to an Amazon Go store or to the Dutch Albert Heijn, there is no need to wait at the counter anymore. Where it started with the self-scan systems, there is now no need to scan your groceries at all – at the Amazon Go stores you can just grab them from the shelves and leave the supermarket again, as long as you have their app installed and registered. Amazon uses cameras trained with technologies such as machine vision, deep learning and sensor fusion to be able to register the products you need (Tillman, 2019).
But when the customer journey will be fully automized, what about supermarket administration? With Internet of Things sensors the store temperature can be analyzed to make sure the groceries will remain cooled at the proper level, electronic displays will show actual prices and potential discounts and RFID chips will indicate the inventory level (Bandoim, 2018). It will be no time before robots are filling up the empty shelves.
However, what then happens to social interaction? As described above, the main tasks of store employees will soon be replaced by the technological transformation. But what about the social part of grocery shopping? For many people, especially the elderly, grocery shopping is a low-key way to have some social interaction with the cashiers and have a coffee with acquaintances in the store’s coffee corner. Albert Heijn now has a ‘sympathetic ear employee’ in the store and another Dutch supermarket, Jumbo, has thought of the so-called chit-chat counter (Pauw, 2019). These are all dedicated employees for customers that crave some extra time for an informal chat with a familiar face.
Personally, I think social interaction should be preserved when it comes to grocery shopping. With the high amount of elderly people and the increasing level of loneliness among them this point of contact should not be underestimated. With these measures, lets see what the future brings!
Tillman, M. (2019). What is Amazon Go, where is it and how does it work? Pocket-lint. Retrieved from https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/news/amazon/139650-what-is-amazon-go-where-is-it-and-how-does-it-work
Bandoim, L. (2018). How smart shelf technology will change your supermarket. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2018/12/23/how-smart-shelf-technology-will-change-your-supermarket/#5d9cd9d4114c
Pauw, M. (2019). Kletskassa bij Jumbo voor eenzame mensen: ‘Als het een succes is volgen er meer!’. RTLZ. Retrieved from https://www.rtlz.nl/business/ondernemen/artikel/4781081/jumbo-albert-heijn-ouderen-hulp-kletskassa-eenzaamheid
This is a very interesting point of view. While it is true that the new , more digitalised way doing grocery shopping is a threat to social interactions I think we cannot forget that the generation that used to get involved in such interactions is soon to be gone. People from our (and even our parent’s) generations (so called generations x, y) , especially in big cities, are more individualistic and self-focused (Kagan, 2019). In my opinion, even if the traditional grocery shopping model would be kept, the social interaction would deteriorate anyways. Think about when was the last time you actually interacted with somebody while shopping yourself. Maybe the new social interaction are the online ratings?
Hi Anna! Thanks for your reply. I agree with your opinion that our generation are more individualistic and self-focused. The world we grew up in, taking into account the Information Age, in is entirely different than the situation the elderly people used to know. However, research from e.g. Psycom shows that especially the younger people tend to face a high amount of anxiety and loneliness in the world of Social Media (https://www.psycom.net/mental-health-wellbeing/mental-health-wellbeing-mental-health-wellbeing-how-social-media-increases-loneliness/). Online ratings tend to be a good way to share opinions, but I think in the end everyone feels less lonely when they get an actual smile from the employee at the counter!
Hey Isabel,
Thank you for an insightful article!
Regarding preserving social interactions in grocery stores, even though it might be a good short term solution, I don’t think that in the further future it will be a viable option for many companies. I believe that physical grocery stores will cease to exist as a result of a fast growing trend of grocery delivery, service introduced by majority of big grocery stores. The growth of the trend will be accelerated by the “future” elderly – generation well acquainted with technology and its convenience.
I think that we should look for a remedy for loneliness somewhere else f. ex. in encouraging elderly to join communities that organise social activities such as gardening. I think that creating and promoting environments where elderly can create deep connections with others will be, in a long run, a better way of fighting loneliness than by preserving social interactions in grocery stores.
What are your thoughts on that? Do you see preserving social interactions in grocery stores as a short term or long term solution?
Interesting article on how Singapore promotes gardening for elderly to fight loneliness: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/07/26/asia-pacific/singapore-promotes-gardening-elderly-bid-fight-loneliness/#.XXJNsCgzZPY
Hi Karolina, this is an interesting comment! From that perspective, indeed not only the social interaction but the entire concept of a supermarket will disappear. Strange to envision right? If we take that into account, preserving social interactions in grocery stores is a short term solution. Also interesting to know is that loneliness is not only a problem among elderly but also increasingly among young people. Therefore, on the long term I think will need to come up with something more radical to make people feel heard, valued and remembered outside of the online world. Curious to see where this wil go!
Hi Isabel,
Thank you for your blog post! I find your point-of-view very refreshing and insightful. It also is trending at the moment, because Albert Heijn has released a fully automated store a couple of days ago (https://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/albert-heijn-introduceert-winkel-zonder-kassa-en-personeel~bf52a73b/). Because automated stores will become a reality in the Netherlands very soon, it is a relevant topic and something that we should think about as a society. I completely agree with you on the fact the the disappearance of social interaction is not always for the good.
However, i think that for the elderly and the lonely (or anyone else who wants to have low-key conversation in supermarkets), solutions can be sought to provide them with social interaction. If you take Albert Heijn as an example, they have always had different store formats in place. Think of Albert Heijn to Go and Albert Heijn XL. Why not opt for a fully automated supermarket in city centers (where customers are in a rush) and have more regular-style supermarkets in towns or outside of the city center? I agree with you on the fact that loneliness should not be underestimated and in the end, customer satisfaction is all that matters for supermarkets. What are you thoughts on this matter?
Hi Tessa, it was indeed a coincidence that right after this blogpost Albert Heijn shared the news about their fully automated store. This only confirms that automation of supermarkets is closer than we think! Also, I like your remark about the different types of supermarkets. Now the division is within supermarkets, meaning there is a rush-counter and a slow-counter within a store, but differentiating between supermarkets might speed up the process even more for those in a hurry and give more space to the people that would like a chat. Yet, loneliness also within the big cities is not uncommon. Interested to see what social activities will replace the supermarkets there!
Hey Isabel,
Thank you for this great perspective of automation! Referring to your comment at the end of the second paragraph, robots are kind of filling up the shelf already at Walmart, at least they are assisting employees to fill up the shelves faster and support smart inventory with analytics. Here’s a video of how to robots of Bossa Nova are work in practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXEaCZ4KzL8
What I think is particularly interesting is how robots interact with humans while they are shopping at the store. Namely, it is the robot’s job to adjust to human behaviour, not the other way around. Would you be able to get used to these machines scanning through the aisle around you while shopping for groceries?
Next to your very concerning argument that this might cause more loneliness, I think it will also further cut jobs in the low-skilled segment. Yet, Walmart claims that robots are not there to replace the workforce. Anyhow, I believe that we do not only need to find solutions for the loss of human interaction, but we also need to consider implications for the labour market to preserve a stable society.
Hi Julia, thanks for your comment and especially for sharing the Bossa Nova video! I cannot imagine (yet!) what it would be like if walking between robots to get my groceries. This will indeed have a huge impact on the labour market as well. If there is no solid solution, this might lead to a higher level of unemployment in the future. And then we’re back where we started – that might in turn increase loneliness even more?
Hi Isabel,
Thank you for your insightful post. You definitely raise some interesting and valid points both for and against the move toward automated supermarkets. While companies claim that they won’t replace workers by robots, what do you think of the possibility that supermarkets will be entirely automated and replaced by an ‘ATM’ for groceries? A simple pickup point, where you can pick up your groceries after ordering them from the app and where they’re given to you by a robot and a conveyor belt. In the Information Strategy course we already saw this happening in restaurants in Asia.
Hi Emile, thanks for your comment! The pickup points you describe remind me of concepts that the Dutch Albert Heijn and Jumbo are already applying: ordering your groceries online and simply picking them up from the closest pickup point. The only difference is that they still do it the ‘old-fashioned’ way – with employees instead of robots. Curious to see when this, now complementary service, becomes the new standard!
Hi Isabel,
I am delighted to witness your growing concern towards the feeling of loneliness. Are you aware of the fact that loneliness can have a substantive impact on ones health condition, especially in regard to elderly. It could potentially influence the longevity and well-being, including a higher risk of hearth attacks, strokes, depressions, anxiety and early deaths, according to this source (https://time.com/5541166/loneliness-old-age/). What would you, thus, think of an elderly assistance program in the grocery stores? It might bring more conversations to the elderly and, subsequently, assist them with the technological difficulties that they are facing.
Hi Bas, I highly like this idea! It is in line with the already established ‘chitchat counters’ but will add more and diverse social interaction and will probably make the elderly feel more secure and at home in (technology-advanced) supermarkets. I’d say lets do it!
Adding to this – I just came across this article that says Intermarché in France opened their first official supermarket just for the elderly. They not only have larger price tags, broader alleys and steps to reach the higher products, but also additional guidance and workshops: https://www.marketingtribune.nl/food-en-retail/nieuws/2018/06/intermarche-opent-supermarkt-voor-ouderen/index.xml. This shows it is already in development!