Focusing on creating fewer contacts within the retail industry, JUXTA has provided a multitude of small-format, unstaffed convenience stores.
Founded by Steve Liguori, Om Shankar, Matt Clayton, Abby Smeaton and Barak Meiri in 2022, the US-based company has been addressing the demand for contact-free experiences.
"Our mission has been to revolutionise the convenience store and micro market industries with turnkey autonomous stores," said Steve Liguori, co-founder and head of marketing and product at JUXTA.
"Autonomous stores and AI play a profitable, transformative, and sustainable role in the future of retail. We believe profound change can happen one small store at a time."
Steve Liguori
After identifying this demand, JUXTA created two solutions: the Nomad and the Nest. The Nomad is a fully autonomous, prefabricated, micro convenience store designed for outdoor spaces.
The Nest is a fully autonomous, micro-market solution for indoor spaces. Each location follows a four-step programme: tap, shop, review, and leave.
JUXTA enables shoppers to enjoy the ultimate quick and convenient retail experience, all while being closer to alternative retail spaces. Shoppers gain instant access to the Nomad or Nest with the touch of a debit or credit card, whether carried physically or stored digitally on their smartphone's wallet or smartwatch.
Once inside the store, shoppers can select from a range of snacks, beverages, sandwiches, hot drinks, fresh fruit, or select more oversized items for dinner at home later, whatever the retailer chooses to stock depending on the needs of that location.
Customers can verify their purchased items on a large touch screen before they exit the store. If consumers prefer to minimise shopping time, they can walk straight out with their purchases, entrusting JUXTA's technology to record their purchases and charge their credit or debit card accurately.
The birth of JUXTA came after the founders witnessed the challenges the convenience store industry faced post-pandemic, such as labour, rising costs, and shifting consumer demands. COVID pushed countless employees in the convenience retail sector to the edge as they struggled to keep stores running to meet community needs.
JUXTA was founded due to these issues, finding a way to help retailers address these challenges while creating a safe environment for consumers to shop efficiently and hassle-free.
"When we talk to consumers, 'less contact' isn't the primary reason they give for where they shop and what they buy. There's a reframing needed around this topic," explained Liguori.
"I think it all comes back to modern life being hard and people are busy. Nobody has the time for additional challenges or friction in their lives."
JUXTA Nest Microstore
Over the last 12 months, JUXTA has seen strong sales growth in stores under 250 square feet. Small format convenience stores have seen a 13 percent annual growth rate, which is higher than large convenience stores, which have seen a 7 percent increase.
"It is interesting to see almost twice the growth rate for the microformat, which is exactly where the JUXTA Nomad and Nest are aimed," he said.
"It shows that people are keener to shop hyper-local than ever."
However, industry experts have questioned the importance of self-service checkouts, with increasing thefts reported. IGA Greenslopes, a supermarket in Brisbane, has removed all of its self-serve checkouts due to a massive spike in shoplifting.
When asked about this, Liguori stated that most thefts are committed by citizens who have reacted to the incredibly high prices of grocery and convenience stores.
"People are going to take things and not feel like they are hurting anyone," explained Liguori.
"They don't realise that taking something without paying impacts the broader shopping ecosystem and that the shrinkage cost will be baked into the price of goods."
In the JUXTA consumer journey, the consumer can only access products once they have presented a valid form of payment. Upon payment, JUXTA allows consumers to be honest at the checkout screen, with the editing left to a trained reviewer.
If you shop in a JUXTA store, a customer tab opens when you enter, and in virtually every case, you will be charged for precisely what they select.
Tap To Enter
With an increase in sustainable practices across the convenience store industry, JUXTA has remained nature-focused. Due to its small format, JUXTA uses materials more efficiently than larger format alternatives.
They have also continued to explore new ways to make Nomads and Nests more energy-efficient while producing less waste or unnecessary excess.
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