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Standi: your next hand out doesn't need hands!

Unmanned and automated retail, is not our future, it’s our present. The upsurge of self-checkout is allowing a quick and easy ‘just walk out’ experience that many find fascinating. However, as an increasing number of shoppers left the store without any interaction with a cashier, I was left wondering how this impacted high-frequency retailers. At the same time, it challenged me to create a way to distribute stamps and flatpack even if the shoppers opt for a self-service checkout. All that without the need for integration into the POS system of the retailer. Short conclusion: in less than 11 months, I went from an idea, moonshot if you will, to a working device that has even received a patent!

Standi: your next hand out doesn't need hands!

Challenges

When disruption rules, agility is the key to success. In any industry, as it develops, grows, changes, and evolves, the natural progression is what continues to make an agile company successful. Challenging ourselves to look for solutions is what makes us innovate and adapt quickly. 

Challenge 1: Independent shopper

As the number of automated stores continues to rise and disrupt the industry, the shift in power moves more toward the shopper. It’s therefore up to us to innovate to ensure shoppers are aware, excited, inspired, and ready to participate in our loyalty programs. Losing the valuable interaction with cashiers in the shopper journey in-store creates a potential threat to the awareness of the running loyalty program. Research shows, that POS materials and store staff are responsible for 70% of the awareness of the program. The program could have significantly less impact without the simple question ‘Do you collect stamps?’. So, the question remains: How do we get shoppers our stamps or flow packs when there is no cashier? 

Challenge 2: Innovation without integration

Even in a world where online solutions seem to be at their peak - integrating loyalty programs digitally can be challenging. I wanted to make the loyalty campaigns smooth sailing for our clients, and therefore the set-up and preparation of digital solutions needed also require minimum integration to the POS software of the (food) retailer. And that is a challenge. I understand that for retailers, the perfect solution requires no POS integration. By using this knowledge, I have created the Standi solution.

It all starts with a ‘what if?’

In April 2020, I asked myself: 

What if... we would have a device that can distribute both digital and physical stamps? 

What if... the solution required no integration into the retailer's POS system? 

What if... the solution could be cost-effective? 

What if... we were able to bring it to the market within 12 months? 

What happens in the few seconds? A shopper inserts their purchase ticket into the device, it comes out together with the correct number of stamps. 

What really happens in a few seconds? Standi makes a hundred pictures of the receipt, and all of those snippets are put together in the cloud. It is then automatically checked for inconsistencies and irregularities which could be a sign of fraud. The device checks the logo to determine if it’s the correct retailer, whether the VAT number corresponds with the total amount spent, the number of SKUs purchased, and many more. Every detail of the shopper's receipt is carefully examined. The algorithm determines a confidence level, and if the device accepts the receipt as correct, a unique fingerprint is generated in the cloud based on key features of the receipt and its content. The retailer can therefore prevent the receipt from being used again. The purchase ticket is returned along with the earnt stamps. 

We are proud to announce, that within 2 years after the global launch, the Dutch Patent Office (DPO) has granted a patent that covers a ‘dispensing device and method for automatically dispensing collectibles’. Therefore, Standi is officially patented! 

 

Dispensing flatpacks: the entertainment edition of Standi

Starting as a loyalty stamp dispenser, a new version of Standi has been launched to hand out instant loyalty rewards (cards, stickers, patches, etc.). This version of Standi solves a major issue for retailers: no matter how shoppers decide to check out (using the retailers’ app, self-scan check-outs or manned check-outs), they can retrieve the correct amount of instant loyalty rewards without any intervention needed by store staff.

 Retrieving the instant loyalty rewards (or stamps for that matter) is as simple as scanning the receipt or using the digital ticket in the retailer’s app.  All of this can be recognized and processed by Standi without having to integrate into the retailers’ IT environment! 

Dispensing flatpacks: the entertainment edition of Standi

Super-fast, secure dispensing with no integration!

In case the retailer’s app is used, dispatching the instant rewards is extremely fast, as Standi no longer needs to check for the validity of the ticket and potential fraud issues. Although the process with a physical ticket takes a few seconds, our real-life test and pilot showed that shoppers don’t consider this as too long. With the retailer’s app, Standi remains to hash each (digital) ticket to avoid the same ticket being used twice. No compromise on fraud prevention! 

Connect to me for more information: koen@retailrelevance.nl.