In 2019, Pixevia launched its first AI-powered store in Europe. Since 2021, the company has actively collaborated with the Rewe-owned Lithuanian supermarket giant IKI. This partnership has resulted in the creation of five autonomous stores. In total, 16 stores have already opened to serve customers in Europe, the US, and the Middle East.
The store features Pixevia’s real-time checkout technology, which allows customers to enter simply by tapping a payment card, be it credit card or debit card, phone or watch wallet, or a mobile app. Customers take what items they want from the shelves while cameras and in-house developed shelf sensors create a virtual ‘shopping basket.’
When checking out, customers tap the same payment card to exit the store, without any ‘checkout’ process required and receive a real-time receipt which can be printed upon leaving. Thus, their solution eliminates tills, provides easier customer experience, and optimizes operations for store managers.
It also provides excellent protection against theft and offers an app-less, tap-in/tap-out shopper experience. It merges the brick-and-mortar shopping experience with ecommerce tactics like 24/7 operation, deep insights into customer behaviour.
Moreover, the store format is not limited to only one model either. It covers container stores and kiosks (18-40 sq m), as well as busy express size stores (100-400 sq m) with hundreds of transactions per day. For adapting PIXEVIA´s technology to a store, there is a one-time installation and onboarding fee, and also a monthly fee for the platform. This does not involve anything more complex than some normal security cameras and simple shelf sensors. The more complex operations are handled by the company through their software platform.
Recently, the company has raised 1,5 million euros for its expansion in the US and in Europe, with a particular focus on the DACH region. Included in these plans are the integration of new venues such as sports arenas, university campuses, and airports to the already existing convenience chains, gas station retail chains, as well as smaller supermarkets.
Mindaugas Eglinskas
CEO of Magma Solutions (owner of PIXEVIA)
credit: Vladimiro Ivanovo, VŽ
