Fuel/convenience retailer continues implementing automated checkout

BP is launching another pilot of frictionless self-checkout technology.

The company is rolling out the Mashgin artificial intelligence (AI)-based self-checkout system at four of its ampm fuel/convenience retail locations in California between April and June 2022. The Mashgin solution provides touchless self-checkout powered by AI, and uses computer vision to scan items for purchase instantly.

Customers will be able to walk in the participating ampm store, select the items they want, place them on the Mashgin kiosk tray, and have all of their products instantly recognized and simultaneously totaled in less than half a second. The solution eliminates the need to search for and scan barcodes. 

Customers can use mobile pay, credit or debit card to complete their transaction with Mashgin, without touching anything but their purchase and form of payment, and be on their way in as little as 10 seconds. 

BP has been implementing new types of automated checkout at select stores, as part of a corporate vision of a “convenience store of the future” that offers a variety of checkout options to give customers a choice in how they shop.

The Mashgin pilot at select California ampm locations is the most recent step toward this vision, as BP aims to nearly double earnings from its global convenience and mobility business by 2030, from around $5 billion in 2019. Following the pilot of the Mashgin automated self-checkout solution, BP will explore options to roll it out on a wider basis.

In December 2021, the company began retrofitting other select convenience stores across its network to provide checkout-free shopping with technology from another automated self-checkout solutions vendor.

BP is working with checkout-free technology provider Grabango to retrofit 10 convenience store locations across its network with Grabango’s platform. Grabango is free for customers to use and allows shoppers to skip the line altogether. There are no special shelves, carts, baskets, or turnstiles required to enter or shop.

BP will retrofit store locations throughout the country with Grabango automated self-checkout technology, including seven ampm stores in northern California and three Amoco locations in western Pennsylvania. The Grabango-equipped ampm and Amoco stores will be live to shoppers in mid-2022. The project is part of a broader BP initiative to reach net-zero by 2050 or sooner.

“BP remains focused on introducing new, tech-driven options for our customers to provide an innovative and seamless shopping experience,” said Humberto Marroquin, VP of mobility and convenience Americas, West Coast., BP. “By working with Mashgin, we can evolve our stores for a better customer experience."

"We are thrilled to work with BP and ampm, a major leader amongst convenience stores, to further improve the in-store experience for their valued customers,” said Jack Hogan, VP of strategic partnerships, Mashgin. “The collaboration also hits close to home as ampm will be our first convenience store chain to deploy near Mashgin headquarters in Palo Alto."