Carrefour City +

2021: Carrefour supermarket chain launches first store without cashiers

On September 6, 2021, the Carrefour supermarket chain launched the first store without cashiers. A project called Carrefour City + was implemented by Majid Al Futtaim (MAF).

There are no cash registers in the store, and instead customers use their phones to enter the store, and as soon as they choose what they need, they can leave. No interaction with staff, no queues and awkward digging in wallets and purses looking for coins.

Payment for goods is made through the MAF Carrefour application, which customers must download before entering the store. Each item taken in the store is automatically added to the digital cart and the purchase ends with a simple exit from the store.

Carrefour supermarket chain opens first store without cashiers

As of September 2021, the store presents more than 1.3 thousand items, such as snacks, drinks, packaged products, takeaway food, as well as essentials.

The Carrefour City + store uses a number of cameras that work on the basis of a combination of computer vision and machine learning to monitor the movement of the customer inside the store. These cameras use tracking technology to identify customers by their body structure and do not record any facial recognition or biometric data.

All this data is associated with an individual account in the MAF Carrefour application and cameras help determine when a buyer takes or puts goods in order to automatically update their virtual baskets. As soon as the customer leaves the store, the total amount of his cart is automatically charged to his registered card, and a digital check is sent through the application.

Majid Al Futtaim confirmed that the store will have staff working to help customers find items on shelves and answer questions or problems. As of September 2021, only 10 customers can simultaneously enter the store due to security rules due to COVID-19. Customers who attempt to generate a QR code to log in to the store when it is full will receive a notification from the app and be asked to wait until the other customer leaves.^[1]

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