CINCINNATI, OH - From expansions and acquisitions, to unveiling new technologies and campaigns, Kroger is constantly eyeing innovation and growth—and doing it again once more. Kroger recently revealed plans to the Business Insider, that it will be rolling out Kroger Edge—a new technology—to nearly 200 stores, that digitally displays pricing and nutritional info, in addition to video ads and coupons for various products. Kroger Edge will be available in those nearly 200 stores by the end of 2018.
"It's an exciting platform for a lot of future innovation," the retailer’s Chief Information Officer, Chris Hjelm, told Business Insider.
So, what is all the buzz about with Kroger Edge? According to the article, this new technology will allow Kroger the ability to change prices and activate promotions across its stores, instantly. In addition, in the future, Kroger Edge will be able to communicate with consumers' smartphones to help them complete their shopping lists as they fill their baskets. How, you ask? The shelf will light up underneath the sought-after product.
"As you walk down the aisle, it will highlight the next item for you to pick on your shopping list," Hjelm said.
According to Business Insider, Kroger employees recently tested out this function while making selections for customers' online orders.
"They loved it," Hjelm said in the article, and apparently the perk drastically cut down on the time it took to assemble the orders. This tech goes as far as helping customers who are trying to identify a specific brand among a space of like-items.
"If you are looking for a particular bottle of wine, Edge will show it to you by highlighting it on the shelf," Hjelm added.
How about dietary restrictions? Appears the tech can even help customers select items based on those.
Helm noted, "If you are standing in front of nutrition bars and you are gluten-free, we would highlight for you, in your color of choice, which of the gluten-free bars are good for you.”
Currently being utilized in only a handful of stores at the moment, Kroger Edge operators must use one of Kroger's handheld devices to communicate with the system and is working on developing an app that will enable customers to take advantage of the system with their smartphones.
For those retailers looking to get a taste of the new tech, Business Insider also stated that Kroger is marketing and selling the technology, which was developed with Microsoft Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service, globally to other retailers.
