100% autonomous discount store in the heart of Utrecht

Hello Utrecht

Located in the very center of the Netherlands, Utrecht is known as the ‘beating heart of the Netherlands,’ connecting all corners of the country by road and rail, including the busiest train station in the Netherlands. Similar to other cities in the Netherlands, Utrecht has a large network of canals, but it’s the only city with terraces on the water, where many restaurants, cafes, and pubs offer outdoor seating, creating a picturesque and unique experience.

Utrecht is also home to the largest university in the Netherlands, Utrecht University, as well as several other prominent universities. Given its strong academic reputation, it is no surprise that Utrecht has the second-highest number of cultural events and landmarks in all of the Netherlands, which are fused into the city’s breathtaking architecture from its Roman and Medieval past. Between its prime location, vibrant energy, and economic, cultural, and social offerings, Utrecht is one of the most desirable cities to live in all of the Netherlands.

A fully autonomous discount shopping experience

Lange Viestraat in Utrecht is one of the busiest streets in all of the Netherlands and is now the home to Aldi Nord’s, and the Netherlands’, first autonomous grocery store. In addition to being situated in one of the Netherlands’ biggest shopping centres, Aldi Nord’s first Trigo-powered store will also serve Utrecht’s large and tech-savvy student population, making this the perfect location for a fully autonomous store.

Aldi Nord puts the customer experience first. As Sinanudin Omerhodzic, Chief Technology Officer of Aldi Nord, describes, “when we are talking about using computer vision technology and applying it to the discount business model, as well as to Aldi’s key-value principles, then it’s always about how can we simplify things in order to make the shopping process easier, as well as make it seamless and simple for the customer.”

It was also crucial for Aldi Nord to maintain the customer experience that shoppers know, love, and expect to find. Loyal Aldi Nord customers look forward to the various saving opportunities that the store offers, such as promotional baskets with deeply discounted items. Since these baskets are a major driver for many shoppers, Aldi Nord worked closely with Trigo to develop and support a unique technological solution for this quintessential offering.

Another feature of the Aldi Nord discount shopping experience is buying assorted goods in bulk. Aldi Nord customers have the option to purchase two different products – with different packaging and weight – from the same manufacturer in a single box, as one item. Once again, Aldi Nord worked closely with Trigo to find a technological solution for this complex offering so that their customers can enjoy seamless shopping, as well as the full Aldi Nord experience.

Working with Aldi Nord

Aldi Nord is fully invested in bringing technology and innovation to its customers. These values are fostered internally, as they have a dedicated innovation arm that recognizes that implementing cutting-edge technology requires time, patience, and the right partner.

Mareike Kleimann, Project Lead at ALDI Shop & Go, explains “when looking for a partner we were actually looking at a whole range of companies, which are offering the same or at least similar products. But what we had in mind, in the beginning, is to look for a solution that potentially works for all of Aldi. One that covers the whole discount shopping experience. So fairly quickly we ended up focusing on Trigo because they were kind of the only ones following our approach of looking at a solution that can be scaled to a large Aldi store, with low hardware prices and a very frictionless, seamless experience for the customer.”

Jenya Beilin, Trigo’s COO and Europe GM, also describes the partnership, “Aldi Nord’s team strongly believes in innovation and, more importantly, truly understands the process and time involved to successfully implement new solutions. Their deep knowledge and commitment to their customers is a constant driver of innovation, enabling us to take our technology to greater lengths as we solve new and complex challenges to help Aldi Nord provide their customers with the best and easiest experience possible.”