PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 21, 2017) - Standard Cognition, which is eliminating the hassle of retail checkout by removing it entirely, announced today the initial launch of its artificial intelligence-based system that lets consumers shop and pay without scanning or stopping to check out. An alternative to Amazon Go, the Standard Cognition platform is available to any retailer, helping to reduce their labor costs, improve the customer experience, and increase profit margins by up to 100 percent. (View a video demo of the system here.)
The company -- part of Y Combinator's Summer 2017 batch -- is already in advanced talks regarding pilots with multiple retailers across the nation.
"One of the biggest pain points for shoppers right now is checkout," said Yoram Wurmser, Senior Retail Analyst at research firm eMarketer. "No one wants to wait in line to pay. Amazon clearly sees this area as one they can revolutionize with Amazon Go. But Amazon isn't alone. Other retailers clearly see the need as well. Standard Cognition fits into this area, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works in practice."
With the Standard Cognition system in place at a store, shoppers don't need to change their behavior or scan anything. They simply go to the store, select their items, and leave, and they are automatically charged for items they leave with. For retailers, using the Standard Cognition AI platform helps them to lower labor costs, reduce shrinkage, take back real estate formerly dedicated to checkout, and better track inventory.
Each year, US retailers experience $130B in lost profit due to cashier overhead and shrinkage. Rising minimum wages and rents on top of already thin profit margins make it difficult for retailers to compete with larger chains and online options such as Amazon. While other companies are developing similar technologies, they appears to be based on older processes, and according to most public reports will only be available for company-owned stores -- not sold to other retailers. The Standard Cognition solution is available to any retailer.
"We saw the need in the market for a better commerce solution for brick-and-mortar retailers that would leverage the latest AI technology to help them dramatically cut costs, get better analytics, get insight into inventory and shrinkage, and improve the checkout experience for their customers," said Michael Suswal, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Standard Cognition. "It seems other companies have delayed their launches because of technical glitches caused by using out-of-date machine-learning techniques, and they are only available in their own stores. So for 99 percent of retailers who don't have the resources to deal with lost profit margins from cashier overhead, product theft and shrinkage, they are going to go out of business. We want to help retailers both small and large thrive and eliminate the cumbersome, expensive checkout experience as it exists today."
How Standard Cognition Works
The Standard Cognition solution is machine vision and artificial intelligence based. It detects item removal and what each item is. When a customer leaves the store, Standard Cognition automatically charges them and updates inventory. It can detect when a customer puts an item down or returns it to any shelf.
Standard Cognition provides two apps: one for shoppers, and one for store staff.
- The shopper app enables customers to check into a store simply by opening the app -- no other action is needed. Then they simply shop and leave.
- The store app enables staff to know who's in the store, where they are and what they are buying. It also automatically detects shoppers, matches them to their basket, and processes payment.
- Customers can shop as guests without the shopper app; in that case, they are directed to kiosks that detect the shopper and basket, and accept payment via credit card or cash.
- Guests who try to leave without paying are detected by the store app, and redirected by staff to a kiosk or existing self-checkout station.
Standard Cognition will charge retailers a small transaction fee. Even after that charge, its system can help small retailers double margins, and larger retailers improve margins by 30-55 percent. Retailers interested in learning more about the Standard Cognition AI-based system should contact the company at info@standardcognition.com.
About Standard Cognition
Standard Cognition is eliminating the hassle of retail checkout by removing it entirely. The company offers the only artificial intelligence-based system available to any retailer that lets consumers shop and pay without waiting in line, scanning or stopping to check out. The Standard Cognition solution helps retailers reduce labor costs, improve the customer experience, and improve profit margins by up to 100 percent. It's also helping retailers of all sizes compete with larger chains and online offerings such as Amazon. Learn more at www.standardcognition.com or follow @standardAI.
Contact Information:
Media contact:
Michelle Faulkner
+1 617-510-6998
