90% of Supermarkets are making this mistake. Are you one of them?

No matter how dependent we are becoming on e-commerce websites, we all had experienced that moment in life where we ran out of daily essentials and had to rush to the nearest supermarket.

There is an increase in the availability of online food services, but supermarkets remain a consumer foundation. Recent events have only added to the frequency of grocery store visits over the past few months. This increased traffic has posed two problems -

How do supermarkets ensure they are stocking what's needed?

How do they cut down on person-to-person interaction?

Well, grocery stores can effectively deploy the Internet of Thing (IoT) devices to boost their profit margins and effectively enhance protective measures. Let's see how IoT can deliver 'smart' supermarkets that can restock the shelves effectively and improve customers' overall shopping experience.

The vision of a Smart supermarket.

Smart supermarkets use connected IoT devices to collect physical data. Once the data is collected, this information is relayed to digital platforms and help the grocery store staff to make better decisions.

IoT in supermarkets is really about associating sensor technology to the things commonly used in the store.

What are the smart shelves?

The concept of smart shelves was first discussed in 1992. They are now making a comeback. Thanks to low-cost connected devices, shelves can now display prices and detect stock levels. Some devices can be installed on equipment like refrigerators. Adding sensor technology can help identify when the product is spoiling by detecting the presence of ethylene gas. The information is sent to employee devices that alert them to stock the shelves.

The era of smart shopping carts.

Trials of 'smart' shopping carts are going on in Canada right now. The smart shopping cart will take care of the scanning and checkout process on their own. This will allow the customer to pay for whatever is in the cart and leave, reducing the wait time in queue and checkout. Thus, reducing human interaction considerably.

IoT can help supermarkets in tackling all their challenges. The Internet of Things (IoT) provides the framework for "smart" supermarkets that can detect stock levels, reduce equipment downtime, and improve customer service. But what does this look like in practice? Only time will tell.