Carrefour is testing a hyper-connected store solution from VusionGroup which blends smart rail systems, Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs), computer vision and AI to reshape in-store experiences for customers and colleagues.

Deploying VusionGroup’s EdgeSense platform, Carrefour aims to improve merchandising compliance through automated visual shelf monitoring. It will also increase on-shelf availability via real-time monitoring and automatic stock-out detection. Meanwhile, ESLs deployed on the digitalised shelf automate pricing and promotions and product geolocation enhances customer journeys as well as optimising in-store ecommerce picking.

The platform will also empower store teams by equipping them with smarter-decision making, using data analytics and AI to identify and prioritise the most urgent tasks to enhance operational efficiencies and boost productivity.

“The goal is threefold,” Thierry Gadou, Chairman and CEO of VusionGroup, said. “To significantly improve store performance, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.”

“Digitalisation has long been at the heart of Carrefour’s strategy. Stores account for 90% of our revenue and this partnership marks a major milestone in their modernisation,” Emmanuel Grenier, Executive Director of Ecommerce, Data and Digital Transformation at Carrefour, said.

Grenier added that the partnership will “turn the store into a digital asset” capable of “combining operational excellence, enriched customer experience and economic efficiency” in its stores where “every square meter counts.”

Currently being piloted in its Villabé hypermarket, Carrefour is the first major food retailer in Europe to adopt the EdgeSense technology.