Alibaba introduces “new retail” with Hema Supermarket

24

September

2018

5/5 (1)

 

Different types of technologies are disrupting the grocerymarket, like “just walk out” technology and home delivery. Another disruption, called Hema, is coming from the multinational Alibaba. Hema is a supermarket that combines online and offline shopping. Every product has a barcode that provides customers with product and price information.

In 2015 the first Hema shop was introduced in Shanghai. Nowadays there are 65 shops throughout China and they are planning to open dozens of shops this year1, 2.

 

What is Hema and how is it different from other supermarkets?

Until recently, the Chinees grocery market was traditional. The customer experience was depressing, with the fluorescent lamps and frowning employees. In contrast to the traditional supermarkets, Hema is an appealing brand which creates a seamless customer shopping experience. How Hema is making a difference is for example with the Hema app; customers can shop, dine and pay their groceries by using one single device. Customers can use their smart phone to scan the barcodes and find additional information such as; product details and recipes. At the in-store restaurant, customers can pick their own fresh products which are prepared on the spot.

Besides this offline customer experience Hema offers a home-delivery service, so customers who shop online have a same great experience, as their groceries will be delivered within 30 minutes2, 3.

 

Wat kind of technology is used?

Hema is using different types of technologies to combine online and offline shopping experiences. Hema uses big data analytics that remembers all purchases of each customer and makes personalized recommendations. The app suggests a data-driven selection of fresh products based on the customer’s location. Within the Hema store digital price tags are used which provides dynamic pricing based on the competition. Another technology is used in one of the stores in China, where robots are serving customers at the in-store restaurant3.

Looking at how quickly Hema is growing and the kind of features they offer, I think that Hema will expand worldwide and be a worldwide success. In Europe and other parts of the world, we do not have this kind of shopping experience as the Chinees have with Hema. I think Alibaba earns a big market share in the grocery industry.

 

 

Sources:

  1. https://www.alizila.com/video/take-tour-hema-supermarket-experience-new-retail/
  2. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/18/alibaba-hema-stores-blend-online-and-offline-retail.html
  3. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/30/inside-hema-alibabas-new-kind-of-superstore-robots-apps-and-more.html

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How AI is Changing the Way You Do Your Groceries

23

September

2017

4/5 (1)

Imagine how much time it would save you if you could just walk into the supermarket, grab the groceries you need, go your own way again. No check-out line, no need for paying on the spot, no packing from your basket into your bag. Sounds too futuristic? Such supermarkets already exist! Amazon introduced the Amazon Go supermarkets, where there are no cashiers and consumers just take the products they need and walk out (Alba, 2016). The consumers are charged through their amazon account after they leave the store (Alba, 2016).

Source: https://www.mobilegeeks.de/news/amazon-go-der-supermarkt-der-zukunft-eroeffnet-2017/
Source: https://www.mobilegeeks.de/news/amazon-go-der-supermarkt-der-zukunft-eroeffnet-2017/

It seems that more and more businesses are moving to a digitally driven environment. If you thought Amazon Go was too futuristic, you will be thunderstruck by Moby, a Japanese 24-hour grocery store with no staff, check-out register, or even fixed location (Peters, 2017). That is right, the grocery store moves itself around and even is designed to visit the warehouse to restock – all by itself (Peters, 2017).

With these technological developments, everyday supermarkets may face serious problems if they do not invest in similar practices. It is too big of a step to implement all the artificial intelligence and machine learning systems Amazon has installed in their Amazon Go shops at once. However, supermarkets are starting to introduce more and more digital driven practices in their environment. An example of a supermarket that started doing so is Albert Heijn, a Dutch supermarket chain that exists for over a century already. They already have a website and mobile application where consumers can, among other things, order products and receive personal discounts, based on their prior buying behavior (Albert Heijn, 2017). They were also the first in The Netherlands to introduce digital shopping lists, meaning consumers can save either spoken or written messages to the list – which has the form of a fridge magnet – or scan barcodes of products, which would then appear on their shopping list in the Albert Heijn App (ESM, 2017).

appie-juni-2017-startscherm-oudnieuw
Albert Heijn App. Source: https://www.iculture.nl/nieuws/vernieuwde-appie-app-albert-heijn-juni-2017/

The above examples are excellent illustrations that artificial intelligence and machine learning are not just fancy technologies used in fancy businesses. They also illustrate that if everyday grocery stores choose to complete disregard these developments, they might end up in big trouble. The ‘new way of grocery shopping’ is much more efficient and time-saving.

No worries – unless you really enjoy spending time in the grocery store, then do worry – better times are coming. Maybe in a few years we will be visited by the grocery stores themselves, instead of the other way around. What do you think?

 

 

 

Sources:

ESM (2017). Albert Heijn Trials Hiku Smart Shopping Gadget. Accessed online through: https://www.esmmagazine.com/albert-heijn-trials-smart-shopping-list-gadget-hiku/41736

Alba, D. (2016). Only Amazon Could Make a Checkout-Free Grocery Store a Reality. Accessed online through: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/amazon-go-grocery-store/

Albert Heijn (2017). Appie App: Alles over de vernieuwede Appie App. Accessed online through: https://www.ah.nl/appie-app

Peters, A. (2017). The Grocery Store Of The Future Is Mobile, Self-Driving, and Run By AI. Accessed online through: https://www.fastcompany.com/40429419/this-tiny-grocery-store-is-mobile-self-driving-and-run-by-ai.

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