Cashierless Grocery Is Going To College

Automated grocery stores have been slowly but surely popping up worldwide since the launch of Amazon Go. Now a checkout-free concept is on its way to college campuses, along with some other new tech-enhanced food solutions for students.

School food service provider Sodexo announced that it will be launching autonomous grocery stores on college campuses nationwide beginning this spring. The grocery concept is called eat>NOW, and one of the first will open on the campus of the University of Denver on April 6.

In a RetailWire online discussion last week, industry experts like BrainTrust member Dave Bruno, director of Retail Market Insights at Aptos, saw Sodexo’s move as a sign of things to come.

“This concept is ideally suited to the hectic, high tech and 24-hour world of college campuses. I suspect this will be an excellent testing opportunity — and it will be very popular,” wrote Mr. Bruno.

While Just Walk Out technology and other gradations of cashierless checkout are not quite mainstream, they could be gaining steam in grocery. Amazon.com recently opened its second Whole Foods store equipped with Just Walk Out technology, according to Produce Blue Book.

For college kids, though, BrainTrust member Ken Morris, managing partner at Cambridge Retail Advisors, saw Just Walk Out as a potential gateway to just not paying.

“I believe this could be a loss prevention nightmare,” wrote Mr. Morris. “College students have little disposable income and are apt to try to game the system. Opening these stores on college campuses is not a reflection of how they will perform in the real world but it certainly will capture the minds of the students as they graduate and enter the general population. I’m not a fan.”

Other RetailWire BrainTrust members saw an audience of broke and creative kids as promising a sort of educational opportunity that tech vendors can only get at a college.

“College campuses are also a great testing environment because if there is a way to game the system or trick the technology, students will find it,” wrote Meaghan Brophy, senior retail writer. “College shoppers won’t reflect the average shopper outside of the controlled college campus environment, but it’s a good way to stress test the technology and concept.”

“This is a great demographic to test on as they’re the future consumers,” wrote Brian Delp, CEO of New Sega Home. “Get them while they’re young! You definitely have a digitally savvy consumer here, but the test for true scalability needs all customer formats. This is likely a better use case for metropolitan areas.”

Sodexo is also making available high-tech touchscreen meal vending machines offering 80 selections including ramen and udon. Finally, the vendor is launching three delivery-only virtual restaurant concepts available through its app for universities for dorm room delivery.

And as one BrainTrust member pointed out, Sodexo’s high-tech pilot may not only change the way college kids shop for food, but the way food providers are chosen by colleges.

“The contracts to run campus dining are often tied to the provider being willing to operate the small c-stores on campus,” wrote Steve Montgomery, president of b2b Solutions. “This move by Sodexo will add pressure on other campus dining providers to offer a similar service. I would expect a lot of visits by its competitors to these locations.”