Boxy, the autonomous and connected grocery store, sits proudly this year in front of Hall 1 of Paris Expo, where VivaTech is held. Clubic was able to test the concept.
The evolution of our society and the disappearance of many shops outside the big cities can complicate the access of the most distant to everyday products. A young Parisian company, Boxy, is in the process of extending its network of autonomous and connected grocery stores whose envelope is a recycled shipping container, which is offered a second life, to improve that of French people deprived of convenience stores. .
An extremely simplified concept
Present at VivaTech, Boxy has developed a small 15 m² connected grocery store that can offer its customers up to 250 references. The pocket business is capable of operating 24/7, and can accommodate up to 3 people at the same time.
David Gabai, one of the two co-founders of the start-up, explains to us how it works technically: “ We have developed a proprietary technology that allows, on the basis of image recognition and weight sensors, to automate customer transactions. A Boxy is equipped with 5 cameras which therefore operate using visual recognition algorithms.
The principle is simple: the user downloads the Boxy application, enters his surname, first name, e-mail address and bank card. When entering a Boxy, all he has to do is scan the product(s), with the possibility of putting them back if he changes his mind. Once he has made his choice, the customer just has to get out of the container. He immediately receives the invoice for his purchases on his phone and is debited automatically.
It will soon be possible to do without the application and the QR code
At the end of 2022, there were 60 Boxys distributed in the Île-de-France region. The aim of the company is obviously to go beyond the Ile-de-France borders. ” Our goal is to cover France. And the technology will evolve, since in the next version of the store it will no longer be necessary to have the mobile application “, announces David Gabai who, cautious, does not prefer to advance on quantified ambitions.
Boxy, which counts Auchan and Carrefour among its most illustrious competitors, wants to offer an alternative to the QR code, by providing its grocery stores with bank card terminals with pre-authorization. ” We’re going to do this for those who didn’t know they needed an app and who suddenly postponed their purchases. We think that this could help accelerate the adoption of the concept. »
For its deployment, Boxy targets peri-urban and rural areas. David Gabai details his strategy: “ there are 3 main criteria: the typology of the population, which must be rather active and young; the quality of the location, if it generates traffic; and the competition, if it is more or less than 3 to 5 kilometers from the first competing store “.
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