Konzum today opened a cashier-less store without item scanning in Zagreb, named Konzum SMART, the first of its kind in the broader region. It is estimated that there are only between 150 and 200 such smart stores worldwide, with the nearest one located in Munich.
The system works as follows: first, it is necessary to download (or open) the Konzum app and select ‘Konzum SMART’ within it, then specify a payment card. The app contains a QR code that must be scanned upon entry. Without the QR code, entry is not permitted. The customer then selects what they want, places it in their bag, and exits the store. The receipt is sent to the registered email address and in the app. Jozo Džakula, the IT director at Konzum, states that the system has been tested multiple times and that in none of the tests did a customer get charged for any item they did not take out of the store, regardless of whether they moved it from the shelf and returned it.
For this to function accurately, the redesigned store of approximately 130 square meters, located at the corner of Kurelčeva Street and Old Vlaška, in the strictest center of the city, is equipped with no less than 150 cameras, which literally cover every item in the store and use computer vision to accurately detect everything that each customer has placed in their bag. Although there is a small section for fruits and vegetables in the store, purchased items are not weighed but are charged per piece. For example, one banana costs 25 cents, which roughly corresponds to the price for a kilogram of bananas purchased in a regular store.
