Trigo – THE young Player in Germany
The Cashierless Evolution
When we mentioned Cashierless technology five years ago, it was mainly about an idea or a pilot store. However, since 2021, more and more retailers have chosen their own partners to start with. This is the beginning of the market revolution. And nobody wants to be left behind. The top supermarket brands in Germany, e.g. Edeka, REWE, or Aldi, simultaneously all chose the same partner as their way-in. Its name is Trigo.
Who is Trigo?
Trigo is a start-up based in Israel. By building AI-powered infrastructure for retail stores, it aims to provide a zero-friction shopping experience to the customers. Trigo was founded in 2018. Now it has 6 global offices and raised $104M in total funding. Both Tesco and REWE – the retail partners of Trigo, invested in Trigo.
How does Trigo work?
The EasyOut™ technology, as Trigo calls it, is not much different from Amazon’s JustWalkOut. It can be integrated with the existing retail mobile app.
The shoppers download the app, register, and link the payment method by choice. They are good to go.
Shoppers enter the store by scanning their code in the app. Trigo’s system tags them anonymously and follows their every move. Items that the customers take will be added to the virtual cart. Items that are returned on the shelf will be instantly deleted. When the shopping is finished, customers can easily walk out without further action. They will get the receipt in the app and the total sum will be charged automatically.
Trigo installs their sensor package overnight for the partners so that the daily business will not be interrupted. It also claims a system accuracy level of 99%. Both are quite important for the retail partners, who look for a smooth retrofit.
Trigo’s development in Europe
2021 is a good year for Trigo. Several partnerships took off.
After being retrofitted by Trigo, REWE’s first check-out free shop in downtown Cologne went alive on July 1st. REWE is Germany’s second-biggest food retailer. It has 3700 stores nationwide and makes $30 billion annual revenues. Trigo delivered Germany’s first checkout-free, autonomous retail shop. This is a milestone for both Trigo and REWE.
On Oct 19th, Tesco Express on High Holborn Street, London went 100% autonomous. This is the second Tesco shop, that partnered up with Trigo. Tesco is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and has more than 7000 stores globally.
On Dec 16th, Trigo helped Netto open its first hybrid checkout-free store in central Munich. Netto Marken-Discount is a German discount supermarket chain and owned by Edeka Group. The Edeka Group is the largest German supermarket corporation. It makes a revenue of $67 billion annually.
Trigo also announced its partnership with discount giant ALDI Nord. The first 100% frictionless discount supermarket is expected to be opened in early 2022.
Why Germany?
Trigo has steadily expanded its ground in Europe. With REWE and Tesco as both partners and investors, we will see more stores equipped with Trigo´s system in the coming years. Europe is not the only battlefield Trigo wants to conquer. It is more a strategic choice that Trigo made.
Germany is known for its strictest policies and privacy standards in the world. By implementing an AI system powdered by computer vision in Germany, Trigo proves itself as a trustworthy partner in terms of shoppers´ privacy. This testimony will be beneficial when Trigo tries to expand into the U.S. market or other international markets in the future.
