Sensei expands in Italy with the opening of its second autonomous supermarket

Portuguese company Sensei, a provider of autonomous store technology, is strengthening its presence and positioning in the Italian market with the opening of the country’s second autonomous supermarket. Located in the historic centre of Trento, Conad’s new neighbourhood store ‘TuDay Prendi & Vai’ offers a faster and more convenient shopping experience without the need to queue or scan the products.

The tech start-up, which already has various autonomous stores across Europe and South America, has teamed up with the DAO cooperative that manages Italy’s retail brand, Conad, in the provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Vicenza and Verona. Sensei is thus repeating the milestone of opening a pioneering store based on artificial intelligence in Italy.

The opening of this second establishment in Trento comes just six months after the opening of the first store, located in the historic centre of Verona, and for the same client, underlining the reliability of Sensei technology, which is transforming the retail sector. Since it opened, the Verona store has been visited by more than 90,000 people in a clear demonstration of customer satisfaction with, and swift adaptation to, this technology.

‘TuDay Prendi & Vai’ (“Grab and Go” in English) in Trento, like the other stores developed by Sensei, offers a new approach to shopping, an experience as straightforward as going to your larder at home. The technology allows customers to simply enter the store, pick up the products they want, and leave, without having to go through a checkout or wait in line to pay. Even though the experience is entirely tech-based, there is always a member of trained staff on hand to help customers with this innovative shopping experience.

As in Verona, this second store in Trento boasts a series of developments designed to enhance the customer’s experience. Along with the removal of entrance barriers to facilitate access, the new store offers customers the opportunity to check their shopping cart virtually, updated in real time, before leaving the store. At the payment terminal, after passing the cart through, customers can choose to pay by card or use the “TuDay – Prendi & Vai” app, instantly receiving their shopping receipt. The time lapse between the customer reaching the terminal and leaving the store is currently less than one minute.

Sensei technology also allows the store to offer an extensive product range (more than two thousand products) so customers can find the same brands that they would in a more conventional supermarket. It is worth highlighting the fact that this includes products with a variable weight, such as fresh produce and bakery items, which benefit from automated communication between the weighing scales and the store’s IT system.

“The opening of a new store is always a matter of pride, but the opening of a second store is a historic moment for Sensei. This milestone marks the start of our expansion in Italy and underlines the convenience and practicality of our technology, above and beyond simple enthusiasm for technological processes. We are privileged to have DAO as our partner and fellow pioneer in the expansion of autonomous supermarkets in Italy, and we thank them for their confidence in us and their collaboration in another key chapter in the history of retail in Italy. We’re looking forward to the future with great excitement”, said Vasco Portugal, co-founder and CEO of Sensei.