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Autonomous checkout-less Albert Heijn store ‘lands’ at Schipol Airport

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Albert Heijn checkout-less shopping has landed – or more literally been parked – at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport offering a whole new experience for busy air travellers.

The Dutch retailer has opened an autonomous ‘nanostore’ for busy travellers at the world’s fourth busiest international airport, where they can experience the speed and convenience of checkout-free shopping. Through the end of January, visitors to the store can just walk in and walk out, tapping a contactless debit card at the door to open it automatically. Then shoppers can get the products they want and simply leave.

The items are automatically registered and paid for. Shoppers can also check their purchases at the exit to verify the receipt.

The small-footprint, portable digital store which is created by AiFi, the technology company running some of the world’s most advanced store automation systems, now sits on the Jan Dellaert Square in front of Schiphol Plaza, after being transported on the back of a trailer truck from its initial test location at Albert Heijn’s headquarters in Zaandam where it has operated since September.

“Speed and convenience are paramount for our travellers,” says Irene Muysson, Head of Retail, Food & Beverage and Commercial Services at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. “We are happy to give a stage to this innovation from Albert Heijn and are naturally extremely proud that we can be the first to offer visitors to Schiphol the benefits of checkout-free shopping. Albert Heijn and Schiphol have been working together for years. We are constantly looking at how we can improve the shopping experience through the use of new digital technologies, for example.”

“The airport is a perfect place for autonomous stores,” says Steve Gu, CEO and Co-founder of AiFi. “Travelers are very aware of their time and need food and drinks at a variety of hours. We are very happy to collaborate with Albert Heijn to bring more convenience and delight to busy travellers. This speaks to the original design thinking behind NanoStore: to make a plug-and-play modular store so it can be easily placed and moved where people need it the most.”

Image: Albert Heijn/AiFi

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