Dive Brief:
- Urban Value Corner Store is expanding the rollout of AI-driven Smart Store Coolers, the retailer announced on Friday.
- Urban Value recently brought the standalone coolers to an apartment complex in Denton, Texas, marking the third site in its network to possess the technology. To use the coolers, customers tap a card or digital wallet to open the door and grab the items they want. The coolers — developed by retail technology firm Micromart — automatically charge users once the door closes.
- This underscores Urban Value’s appetite for tech-driven updates to its network, which has also included opening autonomous stores through a partnership with retail technology firm Juxta.
Dive Insight:
Urban Value — whose c-stores are located in apartment buildings and, more recently, single-family home communities — rolled out its first Smart Store Cooler last summer. At the time, the company said the coolers would allow it to serve areas where the population density can’t support a fully staffed location.
A year later, Urban Value has been “very encouraged” by the early performance of its smart coolers, which let the retailer sell popular items without the staffing requirements of a traditional location, Steve McKinley, CEO and co-founder of Urban Value, said in a statement to C-Store Dive.
The coolers also have increased Urban Value’s ability to partner with building developers, meaning the retailer can now “support properties that may not have the space or density for a full-service store,” he added. According to its website, Urban Value tailors the product mix in the coolers to local tastes and buying trends. It also handles the coolers’ inventory, stocking, pricing and promotions…