{"id":428,"date":"2016-03-07T21:17:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T21:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-ca\/industry\/blog\/industry\/2016\/03\/07\/supermarket-of-the-future\/"},"modified":"2016-03-07T21:17:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T21:17:35","slug":"supermarket-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-ca\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2016\/03\/07\/supermarket-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermarket of the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"
OnWindows Issue 5: Winter 2015<\/a><\/p>\n As customers become more demanding, retailers are having to adapt \u2013 and fast. Understanding this, Italy\u2019s largest supermarket chain, Coop Group, has teamed with Accenture, Avanade, Microsoft and Intel to create a remarkable new concept store which leverages some of the most innovative technologies available today.<\/em> – Tracy Issel, GM WW Retail & Consumer Goods and Hospitality<\/strong><\/p>\n Imagine walking into a grocery store that combines the friendly, open atmosphere of a traditional market with digital technologies that enable the products to tell you their story. As you walk around the product displays you can interact with other shoppers, without racks of shelving getting in the way. Yet sophisticated screens are ready to give you all the information you want about the products that interest you, as well as suggestions based on your food preferences and dietary needs.<\/p>\n This is the Supermarket of the Future. It\u2019s a reality that thousands of visitors have already experienced during its six-month tenure within the Future Food District at Expo Milano 2015 \u2013 and which is set to inspire many more at the National Retail Federation show in January 2016. The concept was designed by Carlo Ratti Associati in partnership with Coop Italia, is being brought to life through a collaboration between Accenture, Avanade, Intel and Microsoft.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n While the Supermarket of the Future is clearly a forward-looking concept, it was inspired by the traditional, social shopping experiences that have existed for generations. It has adapted these traditional experiences using the Internet of Things (IoT) and cutting-edge technologies to create an open arena for interaction between consumers, shelves and products.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Coop Supermarket of the Future is a pioneering example of the shopping experience we\u2019ll probably experience in three-to-five years\u2019 time when entering the grocery store,\u201d says Alberto Pozzi, managing director at Accenture. \u201cTaking the innovative concept of the supermarket theorised by Carlo Ratti, Accenture has designed a user experience and leveraged the most appropriate digital solutions to satisfy \u2013 in a simple, natural and immediate way \u2013 the customer demand for information, socialisation and functionality.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Supermarket of the Future is a real-world example of how Accenture and our partners help our clients change the way we work and live through IoT and digital technologies. Accenture offers complete, integrated digital business, industry and technology services to deliver tangible results for both the digital consumer and digital enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n In order to achieve a natural experience, it was crucial to make sure shelving and digital screens didn\u2019t get in the way of interaction between people. \u201cThe Supermarket of the Future merges the experience of a small local market where people used to have friendly, social exchanges, with that of the modern store, making for a much more personal experience,\u201d says Fabio Chiodini, senior director of consumer products and retail at Avanade.<\/p>\n The project integrated Coop\u2019s legacy infrastructure with a Microsoft Azure cloud content management system and a range of customer touchpoints using Windows 8 and Microsoft Kinect. Interactive tables enabled a rethinking of the traditional supermarket shelf, with new product displays to enable touch-free interaction \u2013 customers could simply hover their hand over a product to get real-time information about it.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery product has a story to tell, such as where and how it was produced, its carbon footprint, the chemical treatment it has received, information about allergens, and the journey that brought it to the shelf,\u201d says Chiodini. \u201cShoppers can bring all that information to life simply by moving their hands and pointing at products. It enables a new, totally natural kind of buying experience in which data helps customers to be aware of what they are buying as soon as they consider the product.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the supermarket\u2019s products were displayed on vertical shelves with touch technology, so customers could interact to receive more detailed information about the products displayed on a specific monitor. Second-screen technology enabled shoppers to interact with touch-based tablets on the meat and fish tables to access product information displayed on monitors. In addition, a mobile app created a personalized experience for customers, with content presented based on their lifestyle choices and real-time interaction with dedicated ranges of products, information and in-store locations.<\/p>\n Striking the balance between a high-tech vision and a more natural experience was one of the team\u2019s greatest challenges \u2013 and the source of some of the project\u2019s greatest innovations. \u201cThe main challenge was to create the most natural buying experience we could,\u201d says Chiodini. \u201cThis was where Avanade was able to express its innovative soul, envisioning the use of a gaming device like Microsoft Kinect as a sensor for interactive shelves. Where additional capabilities were required, the Avanade team worked on designing and implementing a specific algorithm that captures where people are looking and projects their hand-movement towards the product indicated.\u201d<\/p>\nThe future of shopping has been made a reality thanks to an innovative partnership between Accenture, Avanade, Microsoft, Intel and Italy\u2019s largest supermarket chain, Coop Group<\/h4>\n