Galp bets on autonomous service with new "Smart Store" opening
The retailer inaugurated the second location of its recently launched format in Vilamoura, Algarve, to offer customers an frictionless experience.
Galp opened its first “Smart Store” in Vilamoura, Algarve, to provide its customers with an autonomous experience located in the south of Portugal. This is the second location to offer its customers a frictionless service. The new format was developed alongside local startup Sensei and launched at the end of May as the first autonomous experience for a service station in the continent.
The new store has been installed in the brand’s service area in Vilamoura as a pilot project to continue testing how the clientele reacts to this concept. The installation presents an employee-free shopping philosophy, through a network of installed cameras, sensors on the shelves and artificial intelligence algorithms, as a way to respond to the need for a more effective solution for the user.
Galp's smart store will now accompany the Portuguese who travel to the Algarve beaches every year, being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In this autonomous convenience store, there is no need to scan the barcodes of products or wait in queues at the checkouts.
The technology used allows the consumer, by installing the Sensei Shop & Go application or by reading the QR Code when entering the shop, to select products and pay automatically. Convenience products for immediate consumption, such as snacks and energy bars, healthy meals, ice creams and soft drinks are just some of the offers included in the portfolio.
Through this mobile solution, Galp maintains its proximity to its customers, providing them with everything they need, at any time and at the distance of a click.
