Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a new series from RTIH highlighting stand out deployments, launches, and initiatives.
Every week, we will showcase forward thinking tech plays that have impressed our Editor and the Retail Technology Innovations Report judging panel, in the run up to the publication of the 2024 report early next year.
So far, we’ve showcased work being done by Ocado Retail, Decathlon, Lacoste, Downtown Spirits, TalkShopLive, Huck’s, Rovertown, Walmart, Wing, McDonald’s, and Nobody’s Child.
And now we’re focusing on Pixevia which has partnered with IKI, a member of REWE Group, to launch a fifth autonomous store in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“A regular part of city life”. @Pixevia works with REWE Group owned IKI to launch fifth autonomous store in Vilnius, Lithuania #retailtech #payments #Lithuania https://t.co/CS2kuVxZBC
— Retail Technology Innovation Hub (@RTIH_RetailTech) September 18, 2023
The IKI GO store is located next to the Green Bridge public transport stop. It is the seventh location overall powered by Pixevia technology.
Contained in a small format pavilion, it operates without staff for approximately 95% of its opening hours, only requiring occasional restocking.
Shoppers can choose from over 200 items – from hot coffee beverages and chilled ready-to-eat meals to ice creams, snacks, drinks, and essential non-food items.
The store features Pixevia’s proprietary real-time checkout technology, which allows customers to enter by tapping a payment card.
People take what items they want from the shelves while cameras and shelf sensors compile a virtual shopping basket. They then tap the same payment card to exit the store, and receive a real-time receipt which can be printed upon leaving.
IKI, which is the second largest supermarket chain in Lithuania, has opened three autonomous stores in partnership with Pixevia during 2023.
Mindaugas Eglinskas, Founder and CEO at Pixevia, comments: “Thanks to our collaboration with IKI and REWE Group, and our expansion in Vilnius, AI stores have become a regular part of the city’s daily life. We are thrilled to be working with IKI to advance this technology forward.”
“A year and a half ago, we were the first to introduce an innovation to the market – autonomous stores. And although we still stand alone, resting on our laurels is not in our character – we are constantly expanding, improving, looking for even better solutions to make the shopping experience better,” says Nijolė Kvietkauskaitė, CEO at IKI Lietuva.
“With the new IKI GO, we are also introducing a new concept of autonomous stores, which we have carefully developed based on the lessons we have learnt from the four existing autonomous stores.”
“They are popular with visitors, while we enjoy stable technology and traffic of shoppers who value convenience, so we have already been able to learn a lot.”
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