Retail artificial intelligence solution provider Standard AI has signed a definitive agreement to acquire self-checkout provider Skip, which offers kiosks and mobile checkout solutions. The deal will connect self-checkout with AI-powered autonomous checkout for an integrated experience.
Standard AI will integrate Skip’s cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) technology with a back-office ecosystem to streamline operations and give greater control over price, discounts and promotions, the company said.
Retailers use Standard Checkout, part of the company’s Vision OS^ platform, to transform existing stores into checkout-free retail experiences. It offers fast and accurate time-to-receipt and insights about store operations from one platform, Standard AI said.
Hiring and retaining talent is an “existential crisis” for retail, one that threatens to limit growth and store performance, according to Standard AI. This has driven an interest in self-checkout (SCO) as a strategy for retailers seeking to solve labor challenges.
“Autonomous retail has seen exponential growth, and in the next five years, we’ll see thousands of AI-powered stores across the world,” said Jordan Fisher, CEO of Standard AI, San Francisco. “Through this acquisition, we will create a unique offering that combines the self-checkout experience with autonomous retail for the first time ever to give retailers immediate relief from their labor challenges and a way to accelerate their path to an autonomous future.”
Standard AI will connect SCO and autonomous retail, it said. This will empower retailers to offer new checkout experiences to their entire base of shoppers that come through the door. It will also offer shoppers a way to access autonomous retail experiences through the self-checkout kiosks that they are already familiar with, helping to ensure the transition to new ways to shop.
“By integrating with Standard AI, we are now taking our kiosks to the next level and working on solutions that will go beyond them as we create the future of autonomous checkout,” said Chase Thomason, founder and CEO of Skip, South Jordan, Utah.
Following the close of the transaction, Standard AI will continue to sell Skip as a standalone system or together with its Vision OS^ offering. The standalone option is for retailers that need a basic self-checkout unit to provide more support and flexibility to their in-store teams. For stores that want instant relief from labor challenges and a “transformed” retail experience, Standard AI will offer the option for a Skip kiosk together with the Vision OS^ platform. Users can get the SCO and autonomous checkout experience in one solution. This combination will support the entire shopper base, alleviate labor challenges, offer analytics and insights, and won’t require sacrifices around shrink or customer experience, Standard AI said.
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