Carrefour open Flash 10/10: „10 seconds to shop and 10 seconds to pay”. The technology used has „never been seen before”, the company said.

Carrefour open Flash 10/10, its next-generation test store, on 24 November in Paris’ eleventh arrondissement. This new convenience store – developed in collaboration and exclusively with Californian start-up AiFi – uses technology that has „never been seen before” and is designed to provide customers the most accessible and fastest shopping experience ever, according to the press release. 

Carrefour Flash 10/10: 900 products available in a flash 

Carrefour Flash is the first store of this kind in France. With this innovative new format, Flash 10/10 („10 seconds to shop and 10 seconds to pay”) features a shopping journey that does not involve having to scan any products and payment that is almost instantaneous.

Customers don’t even have to take their items out of their bag. This saves time for customers and creates a smoother experience. Customers are free to enter and exit the store without having to pass through a gateway. There is no need to download an app or register beforehand. And there are no surprises – they can view their total spend in real time. 

Four employees will be on-hand to open the store and oversee its operation. They will maintain it and keep it tidy, manage its new e-commerce services (including Pedestrian click and collect) and provide customers with advice. 

This whole customer experience will be made possible by 60 HD cameras, nearly 2000 sensors built into the connected shelves, an algorithm for interpreting all the data and a proprietary tablet payment system.

Customers are tracked anonymously as a virtual avatar, allocated to them as soon as they enter the store. The products that they pick up are automatically detected and then added to their virtual basket. Once they have finished shopping, customers just get their baskets validated at a kiosk and then pay contactlessly. They can get an electronic receipt sent to them immediately simply by scanning a QR code. An automatic checkout kiosk is also available for any customers wishing to pay with cash. 

Carrefour is innovating internationally 

Carrefour Flash was tested at Carrefour’s head office in Massy over more than a year, during which the Innovation team was able to refine the technology and adapt the concept based on feedback from the employees using it on a daily basis. 

In March 2021, Carrefour Brazil launched Flash Scan & Go – a store where customers can use their smartphones to shop and pay for the products they want to take home. 6 such stores are currently in operation in Brazil, and the subsidiary is planning on opening another 8 or so before the end of the year. 

And in September, Carrefour launched its „Carrefour City+” concept in Dubai alongside Emirati partner Majid Al Futtaim. 

“The Flash concept checks our customers’ expectations. They want to be able enter the store easily, know what they are buying, pay quickly and then leave. Compared with other existing concepts, with Carrefour Flash, customers get speed and accessibility in a unique way,” said Elodie Perthuisot, the Carrefour Group’s Executive Director of E-Commerce, Data and Digital Transformation. 

“Following our initial testing in Massy, we are proud and delighted to be launching this store with Carrefour. Flash is definitely one of the stores with the most advanced technology in the world,” said Ying Zheng, Co-founder and President of AiFi.