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Neste showcases future of shopping

September 29, 2020

Neste showcases the future of Shopping – with a little help from Avery Dennison and Nordic ID

In Helsinki, Finland, consumers can catch a glimpse of the future of frictionless shopping. In its recently opened Easy Deli stores, Finnish company Neste offers a fundamentally new shopping experience that combines RFID technology and Nordic ID’s latest self-checkout software. 

In early June, Neste, a leading provider of renewable products, opened the first of several planned fully automated Easy Deli stores in the center of Helsinki, Finland, and referred to the facility as “the first self-service convenience store in Europe using RFID technology”. A key component of the store concept is an RFID-based self-checkout solution developed by Nordic ID, a Finnish technology company specializing in real-time item tracking and self-service solutions. The unmanned 24-hour self-service stores are meant to complement Neste’s range of services alongside conventional outlets.

“Consumer shopping behavior is changing rapidly. We want to be part of this development and offer new kinds of smoother and faster customer experiences. The Easy Deli product scanner is the first of its kind in Finland and a huge leap forward compared to conventional self-checkouts. This makes the shopping experience much quicker and easier." — Jukka Peltoniemi, responsible for automated services at Neste.

RFID enables 24/7 store availability
But it isn’t the self-checkout system alone that fully leverages the capabilities of RFID: Every product in the Easy Deli store is tagged with RFID labels from Avery Dennison, and together with the self-checkout solution, that enables 24/7 store availability. The solution ensures that all purchases made by the customer are scanned and billed in an instant, even if the purchased goods are packed into shopping bags or a backpack. 

A frictionless shopping experience, from registration to payment
To enter the Easy Deli store, customers start by registering using the Neste mobile app. This ensures secure shopping and helps to prevent any misuse and vandalism. After registering, customers pick out their products and place them on the RFID-based self-checkout, which scans all the products in seconds. Finally, customers pay for their purchases using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a payment card.

“Consumer shopping behavior is changing rapidly. We want to be part of this development and offer new kinds of smoother and faster customer experiences. The Easy Deli product scanner is the first of its kind in Finland and a huge leap forward compared to conventional self-checkouts. This makes the shopping experience much quicker and easier. The closest references are found in China, where RFID-based shops have received positive feedback for their user-friendliness,” said Jukka Peltoniemi, who is responsible for automated services at Neste.

Avery Dennison tags ensure performance and reliability
Avery Dennison supplies different UHF tag models, including AD-456 on-metal tags, which were developed for this use case, and AD-180 small circular tags, all of them providing the performance and reliability required for fast, safe, and convenient self-checkout while maintaining other easily demonstrable benefits for convenience stores. These benefits include unheard-of levels of visibility of inventory and the entire supply chain, plus a reduction in labor costs of up to 50% for retailers. It also enables a frictionless and touchless experience for shoppers, which is something consumers are starting to demand more and more, especially in light of COVID-19. 

“We are pleased to be the exclusive supplier of UHF RFID labels for this groundbreaking store concept led by Neste in Finland. It serves as a beacon for Avery Dennison’s comprehensive efforts to enable frictionless grocery shopping. Neste has demonstrated how technology can be used to create an innovative shopping experience that is fast, seamless and exciting, whilst limiting unnecessary interaction with other people,” said Francisco Melo, VP/GM, Avery Dennison Intelligent Labels.

 
About Neste
Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates sustainable solutions for transport, business, and consumer needs. Our wide range of renewable products enables our customers to reduce climate emissions. We are the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the aviation and plastics industries. We are also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products. We want to be a reliable partner with widely valued expertise, research, and sustainable operations. In 2019, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 15.8 billion. In 2020, Neste placed 3rd on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world. Read more: neste.com.

 

 
About Nordic ID
Nordic ID is a full-service PaaS (Platform as a Service) solutions company aimed at becoming the go-to partner for businesses that struggle with managing their flow of items. Our passion for enabling customers to manage their routine operations with ease, speed, and efficiency, inspired us to develop all-in-one solutions that help companies to optimize the flow and count of goods. With our full line of RFID tracking devices and a customizable, adaptable cloud platform we simplify once tedious routine tasks and enable total process transparency. Nordic ID (NORDID) is listed on Nasdaq First North. Additional information: nordicid.com.

 

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