Entering the supermarket, intelligent robot guides will walk up to you and recommend your favorite products; Choose vegetables and fruits, look up at the AI electronic price tag, and you can know the real-time updated product origin and shelf time information; Cashier checkout, self-service cashier system helps people no longer have to wait in long queues... Currently, the integration of AI technology and offline retail is deepening, and traditional supermarkets that we are familiar with are quietly achieving "smart transformation". Improving the shopping experience, this electronic scale is truly intelligent! ”Ms. Ma, who was shopping at the Xueqing Road store of Wumart Supermarket in Haidian District, Beijing, bought some vegetables. The author noticed that she had just placed the product on the smart fresh food scale in the supermarket, and the category, price, and weight of the product were displayed on the scale screen. The barcode that can be used for checkout was also automatically printed, which is very convenient. The supermarket staff told me that this scale uses AI technology to achieve unmanned weighing of fresh products. In the past, cashiers had to remember the codes of numerous products and then print out price tags for customers, which was a slow process. By using an intelligent fresh food scale, the efficiency of this step was improved by 80%. The unmanned cash register system with AI technology has improved the payment experience for customers. At a Yonghui supermarket in Fuzhou, Jiangxi, during the peak shopping period at 6pm, there were no long waiting lines in the checkout area. Ms. Li, a citizen, pushed a shopping cart filled with daily necessities and fresh produce to the self-service cash register area. She placed the goods on the sensing table of the self-service cash register, and the quantity and price of the goods were automatically displayed on the screen. Ms. Li quickly completed the payment by scanning the code. Previously, during peak hours, customers had to wait in line for at least 20 minutes to check out. Now, this self-service checkout system is very convenient, allowing customers to buy and leave immediately, which is incredibly convenient, "said Ms. Li. It is reported that the six self-service cash register devices in the supermarket have significantly improved the efficiency of the supermarket's cash register. Self checkout accounts for 60% of weekdays, and a single device processes 150 orders per day, which is 40% more efficient than manual checkout and equivalent to saving 30% of labor costs for supermarkets. Smart shopping scenarios like this are increasingly appearing in retail supermarkets. At multiple Sanjiang shopping stores in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, customers only need to place their products on unmanned cash register devices, and the system can quickly calculate the price through image recognition. Customers can scan the code to pay and leave the store. In Yinchuan, Ningxia, the intelligent self-service shopping machine introduced by Xinhua Department Store chain supermarket uses machine learning technology to accurately identify products, with a checkout accuracy rate of over 99%; The real-time monitoring of its intelligent loss prevention system can effectively reduce situations such as missed scanning and theft. Peng Jianzhen, President of the China Chain Store Association, believes that retail enterprises can build unique competitiveness by relying on intelligent hardware and AI technology, while also helping to achieve full channel integration of online and offline channels, upgrading offline stores to "experience highlands". At the Xueqing Road store of Wumart Supermarket in Haidian District, Beijing, Mr. Wang added several large bottles of beverages to his shopping cart and told me, "This beverage is new and has been very popular online recently. I didn't expect to be able to buy it so quickly in the supermarket, it's really good." He was able to discover what consumers like and want to buy in a timely manner, which is the credit of the supermarket's AI product selection system. The AI product selection system can track multi-dimensional data such as market consumption trends and social platform hotspots in real time, and even consider multiple indicators such as product listing costs, gross profit potential, and scene adaptability to ensure that products always keep up with changes in consumer demand. ”Liang Haiyan, Deputy Store Manager of Wumart Supermarket Xueqing Road Branch, said. According to Xu Lina, spokesperson for Wumart Group, in addition to product selection, AI technology is also applied in scenarios such as replenishment and clearance. The AI replenishment system can help stores automatically calculate replenishment demand, analyze the historical sales of store products, dynamically optimize replenishment frequency and quantity based on factors such as seasonal trends, holidays, promotions, weather, etc., to ensure 'continuous supply of high-frequency products and no accumulation of long tail products'. ”Xu Lina said that the accuracy of the AI replenishment system's judgment is over 95%. AI intelligent replenishment not only solves the industry problem of 'inaccurate replenishment', but also provides a replicable technological paradigm for reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the retail industry. ”How to handle the clearance of fresh goods is another challenge in the retail industry. With the AI clearing system as a 'pricing strategist', difficulties are easily solved. In the fresh fruit area, I saw that the packaging boxes of fresh cut fruits in the freezer were all labeled with QR codes. Xu Lina said, "The QR code records the real-time delivery time of the product. Once the fruit has not been sold by a certain time, the system will provide corresponding discounts in real time, and the electronic price tag of the store will also refresh the price synchronously." According to Liang Haiyan, the AI clearance system will monitor the inventory level, sales rhythm, and seasonal changes of each product in real time, and then automatically generate accurate clearance strategies through a series of algorithms - neither letting the products be sold at a low price and damaging the gross profit, nor letting them expire and become worn out. In the past, we used to discount daily fresh products in a 'one size fits all' manner when the time came. But now, the system has already calculated which products to adjust their prices to and at what price point is most reasonable. The AI system has helped us achieve an efficient closed-loop from the entry of goods to their exit, greatly improving the sales efficiency and profits of goods. ”Xu Lina said. Promoting intelligent management AI can also transform into "smart managers" and "intelligent customer service", helping supermarkets to operate and manage more efficiently. Above the cold storage door of the Xueqing Road store in Wumart Supermarket, I saw a small electronic screen displaying the temperature of the cold storage. Xu Lina introduced that the cold chain intelligent control system, which applies AI technology, can monitor the temperature and humidity changes inside the cold storage in real time through cameras and sensors, as well as the operating status of refrigeration equipment. Once the system detects abnormal temperature fluctuations or inefficient operation of the equipment, it will immediately analyze the cause and send warning information to the store management personnel through a dedicated APP. For example, if the system detects that the cold storage door has been open for too long, causing a temperature rise, the APP will remind employees to close it in a timely manner. If there is a malfunction in the refrigeration equipment, the system will quickly match repair plans and recommendations for activating backup equipment. ”The lighting inside the supermarket is also controlled by AI. Xu Lina said that the lighting management system will automatically adjust the brightness and color temperature of the lights based on different time periods, passenger flow, and product area characteristics. At the beginning of the morning, the lights are automatically adjusted to be soft and bright; in the afternoon, when there is less foot traffic, the lights are automatically dimmed to save energy; after work at night, there is no need to worry about the staff forgetting to turn off the lights. The system can control the on/off of lights in various areas. All these adjustments do not require manual intervention, and are dynamically controlled by the AI system based on preset rules and real-time data, which helps stores to ensure a shopping experience while significantly reducing electricity costs. Many offline supermarkets have also applied AI technology to supermarket management. In the 20 stores of RT Mart in the East China region, an AI air conditioning control system was introduced to analyze historical sales data, real-time passenger flow, and outdoor temperature and humidity. The air conditioning temperature in each area was dynamically adjusted: the food area maintained a constant temperature of 18 ℃ -20 ℃, the fresh food area dropped to 8 ℃ -10 ℃, and the non food area automatically heated up by 2 ℃ during low passenger flow periods, resulting in an average daily energy saving of about 800 kWh for the stores and greatly reducing electricity costs. In logistics management, AI performs equally well. In the "Houda" business that Wal Mart cooperates with Dada, Dada's preferential picking system, supported by Canghai System and Haibo System, digitally controls the whole process. The AI system will comprehensively consider factors such as traffic conditions, store location, and order density to plan the optimal logistics delivery route, and help pickers quickly locate goods by accurately locating their location in the store. AI customer service has reduced labor costs in the retail industry while improving service quality. After the AI customer service of Wumart Supermarket went online, it achieved 24-hour automatic response to high-frequency inquiries, completed order inquiries, and answered return and exchange rules within 3 seconds. When personalized user needs are identified, it is possible to seamlessly transition to manual customer service and synchronously push user profiles, allowing customer service personnel to "answer before asking". The "Yonghui Assistant" on Yonghui Supermarket's online app has achieved a service response of "thousands of people, thousands of faces". For example, when a user searches for "milk", AI customer service will recommend low-fat milk or high calcium milk based on their past purchase history, and synchronously display the inventory status of nearby stores. For after-sales complaints, the system can automatically identify the type of problem and generate a one click return and exchange plan, greatly reducing the customer complaint rate. From the interactive innovation of shopping scenarios, to the efficiency improvement of the sales chain, and to the intelligent upgrade of the management system, AI technology is promoting the transition of the retail industry from "human driven" to "smart driven" through full chain penetration. Industry insiders believe that with the continuous updates of AI technology, AI will continue to deepen its integration with the retail industry, bringing consumers more efficient, intelligent, and personalized smart retail scenarios. (New Society)