Zippin Checkout-free Technology backed by Maven Ventures

At the intersection of employee activation and retention is the cost of both.  Labor cost has proven not to be ‘transitory’ unless you can account for employees that have been replaced with the use of new technology, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Zippin the Checkout-free technology provider recently closed a $30 million Series B funding round with participation from new and existing investors including OurCrowd, Maven Ventures, Evolv Ventures and SAP. The new round brings Zippin’s total funding to more than $45 million.

With labor cost on the up-swing, employees harder and harder to come by, this new cash boost comes on the heels of significant progress the company has made in recent months, including signing numerous new accounts, launching multiple new public checkout-free stores, and further solidifying their leading technology within the future of retail.

Did you know that, Zippin currently powers checkout-free stores across four continents, in diverse retail formats such as convenience stores, grocery stores, sports stadiums, hotels and residential buildings. The funding round will enable Zippin to scale its checkout-free platform as well as power tens of thousands of stores by 2025. How are you lowering cost and driving customer relevance with a faster check out process?

So, Zippin’s customers include the world’s largest food service providers Aramark Corp. and Compass Group, Japan’s third-largest convenience store chain Lawson, and Brazil’s largest retailer Americanas, all of whom are expanding their checkout-free store footprints rapidly.

Here is what you need to know. Zippin’s multi-modal artificial intelligence (AI) technology is unique among its startup peers, and enables Zippin to deliver greater than 99.9% accuracy even in stores with high shopper density and a complex selection of products, including unbranded and small-sized items.

No need to remodel or build from new as Zippin’s solution works equally well in newly constructed stores and existing store retrofits. The Series B funding will help Zippin accelerate the pace of innovation in the areas of deployment and maintenance, where past initiatives like Zippin Cube have already cut time-to-deployment by a factor of five. Zippin’s goal is to retrofit stores within a single day with zero or minimal down time for retailers.

OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved, stated, “Their technology advantage is one of the main reasons we chose Zippin,” … “We evaluated several companies in this space and found Zippin to be the clear leader with most stores in public settings.”

Medved continued, “Many of the Zippin-powered stores in sports venues can attract up to 500 shoppers in a single hour, putting the underlying AI to the ultimate test. “Zippin’s continued growth in such challenging environments is evidence of their superior technology, and also a competitive advantage, allowing their AI to train on some of the richest datasets provided by those challenging environments.”

Zippin co-founder and CEO Krishna Motukuri explained the company has seen increased demand and rapid adoption of checkout-free technology during the pandemic. “Shoppers want contactless experiences everywhere they go,” Motukuri said. “As retailers realize that frictionless checkout-free technology is also contactless by design, they see a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. With a checkout-free platform like Zippin, retailers can offer shoppers what they are looking for today, and future-proof their business, both at the same time.”

Success clues, Zippin was founded by industry veterans from Amazon and SRI with deep backgrounds in retail technology, AI and computer vision, Zippin has developed the next generation of checkout-free technology enabling retailers to quickly deploy frictionless shopping in their stores. Its patent-pending technology uses AI, deep learning and sensor fusion to power its consumer experience: banishing checkout lines and self-scanners for good, and allowing shoppers to zip in and out with their purchases.

Zippin’s platform also leverages product and shopper tracking through overhead cameras, as well as smart shelf sensors, for the highest level of accuracy even in crowded stores. Zippin has offices in San Francisco, Dallas, Toronto and India.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869 

Zippin’s Cashierless Hotel C-Store is a Winning Growth Solution

 

The San Francisco-based technology driven Zippin announced the launch of its latest retail format: a hotel convenience store. Its new store is in the Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel is also the first store in Japan open to the general public to use biometric authentication technology to verify customers’ identities.

Ok, so you think that it sounds easy? Well according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® its not easy.  However, it works, elevates cashierless stores once again and just may be a break-through technology edifying restaurants, grocery stores, C-store, and dollar stores soon.  

So, Zippin’s partner, Fujitsu, the leading systems integrator in Japan, has worked with Koyo Group to implement the world’s first checkout-free store within a hotel at the Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel. It is also the first store in Japan open to the general public to use biometric authentication technology to verify customers’ identities. Johnson stated, in the U.S. some may object to this but not him.  It’s faster, more reliable, and seamless.

Now with this partnership, the store operator is keeping shoppers and workers safe during the pandemic with a cashierless checkout, eliminates stress of lines and wait times, and raises customer satisfaction by optimizing the product lineup. It’s going to be much more important after the pandemic when the hotel is full and customers are time-starve once again.

The new grab-and-go Green Leaves Plus unit which sells pre-packaged food and beverages as well as fresh bento box meals, opened early this year as a pilot and customers are able to enter the store via smartphone app. Here is how it works:

“Customers must register their credit card information, and then enter the store with the QR code displayed on the app. Customers can also use the multi-biometric authentication technology that links their palm vein and facial recognition information with the smartphone application. After registering this in advance, a smart phone is no longer required for entry, just a simple swipe of the palm.”

Koyo will start full-scale operation at the store in April 2021. Early analytics suggest Koyo has relatively high traffic during the nine hours it’s open every day. Shoppers are spending an average of 113 seconds in the store, which is considerably fast considering the size of the store and variety of items furthering Zippin’s “zip in and out” approach.

said Zippin Co-Founder and CEO Krishna Motukuri stated, “Zippin is excited to work with Fujitsu to power the checkout-free technology for this new Koyo hotel store. We believe that there is big growth potential for checkout-free retail in Japan. The Green Leaves Plus store at Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel is helping to lead the way to a better retail experience at hotels, hospitals, and other places where people need convenient access to food and drinks,”.

Koyo is looking a customer ahead as it also operates convenience stores and restaurants in more than 500 hospitals. This first hotel convenience store will also be a model for how checkout-free technology could work in a hospital setting — where people need 24 hour access to food and drink — without having to require a constant staffing presence. The new store is part of a multi-phase expansion plan by Koyo to ultimately create new convenient foodservice concepts for hospitals.

Motukuri continued “Any store that provides all-hours access is an ideal location for checkout-free technology because the stores can be kept open without having to maintain staffing levels, especially in off-peak periods. The opportunities are endless,”.

So, Zippin has developed the next generation of checkout-free technology enabling retailers to quickly deploy frictionless shopping in their stores. Zippin’s patent-pending approach uses AI, machine learning and sensor fusion technology to create the best consumer experience: banishing checkout lines and self-scanners for good and letting shoppers zip in and out with their purchases.

Zippin‘s platform leverages product and shopper tracking through overhead cameras, as well as smart shelf sensors, for the highest level of accuracy even in crowded stores. Founded by industry veterans from Amazon and SRI with deep backgrounds in retail technology, AI and computer vision. Are you ready to get-Zippin?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Zippin Expands Non-traditional Locations to Expand the Brand

Regular readers of this blog know that Zippin is a check-out free retailer. Well in order to drive adoption Zippin has now has partnered with Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., to open the first in the world in-arena checkout-free convenience store and according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® that’s the incremental visibility that the brand need.

The new Zippin store will be located at the Southwest entrance of Golden 1 Center and will be open during Sacramento Kings home games and concerts at the arena. Sacramento Kings Chairman and Governor Vivek Ranadivé stated “We are committed to leveraging technology to identify and deliver cutting-edge, innovative solutions that enhance the fan experience,”  “Using AI-driven checkout-free technology we are excited to deliver a first-of-its-kind frictionless shopping experience ensuring our guests are able to get back to the action as quickly as possible.”

Starting this month (October 2019), Golden 1 Center fans and guests will have the opportunity to purchase food and beverage items such as popcorn, draft beer and a variety of snacks and drinks without the hassle of checkout lines and self-scanners.

For those of you who are not regular readers of this blog; San Francisco-based Zippin uses AI technology with cameras and sensors to accurately identify who bought what as shoppers walk around the store shopping naturally. So, here is how it will work:

Using the award-winning dual mode Sacramento Kings + Golden 1 Center app and/or the Zippin app, fans and guests can visit the store, grab items off the shelves, and exit without waiting anywhere or scanning any items. The receipt will appear in the app.

Shoppers who do not have the app will be able to enter the store by presenting a valid credit or debit card at the entrance.

Zippin’s technology also provides real-time inventory tracking allowing concessionaires to re-stock at just the right intervals and maximize sales conversion. As Zippin keeps accurate count of all the products on every shelf in the store, shoppers will be able to use the Kings or Zippin app to browse what is available in the store from anywhere.

Zippin CEO and Co-founder Krishna Motukuri stated “Banish the checkout line. That’s Zippin’s motto,”“I can’t think of a better place than a sports venue to eliminate the checkout line. When Zippin launches in Golden 1 Center this Fall, Sacramento Kings fans will be able to walk in, grab a beer, and walk out in under 30 seconds.”

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

At Zippin Fresh and Prepared Food too Drive Growth

Complexity free foodservice saves consumers time and time pressed adults value complexity free choices when it comes to deciding just ‘What’s for Dinner’ according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

While cashier-less retail has proven popular at saving time consumers still want grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food.  Technology is great but it is still food, meals, menus that drive the path to purchase according to Johnson. 

So, while Zippin uses vision cognition technology, machine learning and smart shelf sensors to provide a frictionless payment solution it is the newly positioned fresh food options that will drive topline sales and bottom-line profits.

Zippin, originally opened in August 2018; but recently reopened with longer hours, an updated design and an enhanced selection of products, including more fresh and prepared food items which our grocerant guru could have told them is what consumers want without having to retool.

Now, consumers can simply use an app on their phone to enter the store, grab what they want and leave. So, “When the receipt comes, we tell them exactly how much time they spent in the store,” said Krishna Motukuri, Zippin CEO and co-founder, noting that getting lunch can take a matter of seconds. 

Complexity free foodservice does not mean free from political tinkering as San Francisco passed a law in May banning entirely cashless brick-and-mortar stores to ensure residents without a smartphone or a bank account can still access the same services as other residents.

So, in response to the new law, Zippin now also accepts cash. Employees are available outside the store to assist — and to explain the technology to customers who are new to the concept. Why, outside? Well, because the actual shopping area is only 250 square feet, there might not be any employees inside the retail space. Think small footprint no cashier and profitability?  Who will be your next competitor?

Today, Zippin does not sell age-restricted products like alcohol and tobacco. But Motukuri believes this is simply a technological roadblock stating “Technology will get better,” .. “For instance, age-restricted products today, by law, require a human to check the customer’s ID. That could be something that could be automated. … in the next five or 10 years, most of them (could be) automated.”

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.