Checkout-free store's daily customers jump 250%
A new autonomous convenience store in the Vantage Pointe luxury high-rise community in San Diego is off to a roaring start.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision technology provider Accel Robotics opened Valet Market, a 1,500-sq.-ft. autonomous store within Brookfield’s Vantage Pointe in San Diego's East Village, on Friday, June 11, 2021. In the first few weeks since opening to the public, the store is growing by 250% average daily customers.
One-third of all store transactions are deliveries using the Accel Robotics Last Step proprietary delivery service. Through Last Step, residents of Vantage Pointe receive deliveries straight to their door, day or night, with an average delivery time of under 10 minutes. In addition, the number of transactions at Valet Market have more than doubled and cart size has increased.
Over two-thirds of the building's 679 units have downloaded the Valet Market app within the first two weeks, allowing the residents to seamlessly shop and order necessities 24 hours a day. The app—available over the last few days to any shopper in the area—has already been downloaded over 1,000 times.
Valet Market shoppers download the store’s app and use their phone to check-in. Once inside, customers select desired items and walk out without having to wait in line to check out. In-store technologies including computer vision, shelf-level sensors, and AI automatically track products as shoppers remove them from the shelves. When exiting the store, a receipt is delivered to the customer's mobile device, eliminating the need for traditional or self-checkout.
"From the very beginning, we set out to shape the communities of tomorrow through evolved retail solutions," said Brandon Maseda, CEO and co-founder of Accel Robotics. "The success of Valet Market as a novel, autonomous store format where shoppers no longer need to wait in line or use cumbersome self-checkout is a great example of how real estate developers can meet the needs of modern consumers."
In the coming months, Accel Robotics will have opened 10 autonomously powered retail experiences. These formats include additional installations of its company-owned brand, Valet Market, in addition to new formats with established retailers, restaurants, fuel stations and similar entities.