Waitrose is trialling the use of shelf-edge cameras to improve availability in its stores.
The tech is currently being used to monitor stock levels in two Little Waitrose convenience shops. It’s one of a number of new solutions being tested by the high-end grocer, as it gears up for a major rollout of its c-store estate, announced last week.
Retail director Tina Mitchell told The Grocer Waitrose had the ambition to go from a “slow follower” to a sector “leader” in retail tech, with a major programme underway looking at how its smaller shops could be “more digitally enabled” in future.
Earlier this month, the supermarket appointed Lee Jeyes as its new head of retail innovation & change. He previously held the same role for Walmart in Canada.
“Our future convenience stores will have more technology put into them,” Mitchell said. “Maybe not the first few, but certainly as we get into next year and the years beyond.”
The investment would predominantly focus on “freeing up partners”, Mitchell said. For example in technology that could help improve the speed of replenishment – like the shelf-edge cameras – or automatic age recognition at self-checkouts.
Although it was not currently using electronic shelf-edge labels, Waitrose was considering how it could use them in its operations, Mitchell said.
Security is another major focus, with Waitrose unveiling a string of new security measures at its refurbished John Barnes store last week. It includes new security camera screens throughout the store, as well as new security gates.
Waitrose said it was also generally increasing the number of self-checkouts and reducing the number of manned tills across its future stores. However, it may still continue to put a number of manned tills in c-stores, depending on the location, Mitchell said.
“It’s not a race to the bottom to remove hours from shops,” Mitchell said. “In contrast, it’s about how we repurpose our branch hours so they can really focus on the things that customers value.”
She insisted that providing great customer service and store experience remained a critical point of difference and focus for Waitrose.
More retailers using shelf-edge cameras
The use of shelf-edge cameras is increasing across the sector, as retailers look for new ways to improve levels of availability and make replenishment more efficient in stores. In April, Morrisons announced plans to roll the technology out to its entire store estate by the end of the year after a trial.
It followed a move by Spar operator CJ Lang to add the tech to 70 of its stores.
The Waitrose trial comes alongside other measures aimed at tackling availability, including the trial of a new stock management system, which began earlier this year.
After sporadic issues with availability throughout 2022 and early 2023, mostly caused by a troublesome IT update, Waitrose availability levels have significantly improved in stores as a result. Its availability performance in the Grocer 33 improved 1.1% in the year to July, which is The Grocer’s most up-to-date measure.
Availability is currently running at its “best ever”, the supermarket claimed.
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