- Take&GO in Poland provides self-serviced stores with food.
- The chain has recently implemented payment terminals in the stores.
- They are working on Take&GO 2.0 version to make the shopping experience even better.
The ongoing pandemic has made the retail industry to rethink the way it is operating. Today, many retailers look for new ways of doing business and work on the implementation of “touchless” solutions. Cashierless stores have proven to be better prepared to weather the storm.
Take&GO, managed by Surge Cloud, is the first autonomous store chain in Poland. There is no personnel in the stores, no cashiers, only a system of sensors on the shelves with goods, and a wide system of cameras located throughout the shop.
At the entrance, customers are verified using the mobile application, after that they can freely choose the goods they are interested in, while intelligent shelves and cameras will identify the product. When leaving the store, the app automatically charges your card connected to the app.
The stores are open 24/7/365. Customers can choose from a comprehensive range of goods. Approximately 900 products are available in Take&GO stores – mainly food and a wide range of ready meals. No cigarettes or alcohol (editor: which probably has a more complex explanation)
The range of products as the network develops is to evolve and be adapted to the requirements and needs of customers.
The whole shopping is done automatically. This is possible thanks to the innovative use and integration of several technologies, including RFID tags on products.
Take&GO installed payment terminals in the stores.
Anecdotally, in times when everyone aims to provide contactless payments, the Polish company provides its stores with payment terminals. Providing in-store card payments with the help of POS machines could actually be beneficial. The store may be equipped with the Leading EFTPOS machine from Zeller or an equally reputable company to provide customers with fully secure and hassle-free transactions.
Marcin Popiak, Chief Commercial Officer at Surge Cloud
Until now, Take&GO has only offered payment via a card connected to its application. ‘The introduction of payment terminals is a result of research and dialogue with our clients. Terminals are just another form of payment that will help them feel better in our store and open it to more customers. This does not change the fact that the vast majority of our consumers use the mobile application Take&GO and secure automatic payment using an assigned card,’ Marcin Popiak, Chief Commercial Officer at Surge Cloud, told ITKeyMedia.
The COVID-19 impact
The pandemic did not affect Take&GO development in the context of technology, said Marcin Popiak. ‘Certainly more customers have been convinced by our solution, accepting it as more attractive in the current environment. Thanks to our systems and RFID technologies, we are able to work remotely and analyze stock, sales, optimize orders to our suppliers, or verify the expiry dates of all products. Technological solutions created by Surge Cloud allow us to manage the store from anywhere. Only the physical delivery of the goods to the stores remains.’
To secure the functioning of stores and their stocking, Take&GO has created two separate teams that handle deliveries that do not have direct contact with each other. If a virus infection occurs in any of them, the company can quarantine all the people working in it, replacing it with another team to avoid any disruptions in chain operation. This way, Take&GO secures not only employees but also the functioning of stores.
As for the nearest future, the company works every day to continually improve its system and develop the chain. ‘Hence, we need constant investment in technology development and research into new solutions. We are currently working on a 2.0 version of our store – improving the automation of processes in the supply chain and the use of data to provide a better shopping experience to our customers. We will certainly inform you about our progress in this area,’ Chief Commercial Officer at Surge Cloud Marcin Popiak stated.
‘We believe that change in retail is not a revolution but an evolution, and it is global. Autonomous stores have great potential and abilities to quickly become a part of traditional trade and a common destination for customers… We see multiple options for further expansion of this type of solution – at first in popular, crowded locations, where consumers want to make quick purchases, such as city centers, transport hubs, and airports, but also as local stores with the most-needed products available around the clock.’
