🛒 Rewe Launches Largest Autonomous Store
Rewe has opened Europe’s largest autonomous supermarket in Hamburg, covering 1,200 sqm. This new store surpasses Netto's previous record. It offers 20,000 items and introduces advanced checkout-free systems after successful trials in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Munich.
💳 Innovative Checkout Options
Rewe’s Hamburg store allows four payment methods: traditional staffed checkout, self-scanning checkout, cashless via Pick&Go app, and computer-vision terminals. The latter uses image recognition, letting customers shop without scanning, a method Rewe calls a game changer.
🏪 Amazon's Exit, Rewe's Commitment
Unlike Amazon, which abandoned its 'Just Walk Out' technology due to high costs, Rewe believes in its autonomous system. A second Pick&Go store is set to open in Hamburg. The technology used ensures minimal data collection, focusing only on items picked or placed back.
🔍 Data Privacy and Future Plans
Rewe’s system generates a 3D model of the supermarket, ensuring data minimization. Jana Sanktjohanser, project manager, emphasized that the system does not use facial recognition or remember customers. Rewe plans to expand the concept throughout Germany, with a new store in Düsseldorf coming soon.
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