Celebrating One Year of Frictionless Food with Market x Flutter
In February 2021, Compass Ireland entered unchartered territory, teaming up with autonomous AI wizards AiFi to launch Ireland’s first frictionless supermarket: Market x Flutter.
The pioneering concept sought to present the ultimate solution to workplace dining convenience, the result of a collaborative ideation process with gaming and betting giants, Flutter Entertainment PLC.
Few could’ve predicted how well the frictionless shopping experience would land with Flutter’s 1,700 head office personnel. The concept represented a leap into the unknown and a true first in the Irish food at work sector.
12 months have passed following the fanfare of the launch, so we reached out to the operations team responsible for managing the market to help answer the big question: how well did it perform?
Market x Flutter in Numbers
Market x Flutter has proven its staying power, boasting an 85% customer return rate, a figure that has climbed steadily from 74% following ‘go-live.’
“What this tells us, is that the majority of customers who use the store will continue to do so. 75% wasn’t bad, but 85%, well, that speaks volumes about the stickiness of the solution. Naturally, we’re diving into how we can enhance the customer experience to raise that number even higher, and I’ve no doubt we’ll find a way to convert those final few to loyal advocates for the Frictionless experience.”
The average spend per head has also undergone an impressive 20% uplift.
The store’s pioneering AI-driven software is constantly learning and interrogating the purchasing data to suggest the optimal product range to meet customer demand: it’s data-driven decision- making at its finest.
Amongst the three most popular selections are our very own ‘Copper Pan Kitchen’ prepared ready meals, a delicious addition to the expansive product line-up that includes fresh fruit, pastries, convenience items, cold & hot meals and a wide variety of beverages.
The customer journey is becoming even slicker, with receipt queries down to below two per week and item identification accuracy stats exceeding 98%.
On average, customers require just 75 seconds to enter the store, locate their desired items, bag them up and exit the store. Payment is collected remotely, and an itemised bill is sent to the customer within the store’s App.
Originally planned to remain open between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00, the store is now available to employees 24/7, and despite increasing the operating hours, the labour required to service the store has been optimised by 50%.
The performance is sure to inspire confidence in those investigating the feasibility of frictionless in their workplace, with the solution set to undergo even greater optimisation in 2023 owing to the rapid evolution of open-source AI technology.
Paving The Way For Frictionless Technology
Fast to follow in the footsteps of Market x Flutter were our UK colleagues, introducing the very same frictionless technology into the King Power Stadium for 2015-16 Premier League winners Leicester City Football Club.
In January 2023, Compass Group UK&I announced the launch of a third frictionless solution at Aston Villa Football Club.
With a host of stadia and businesses set to adopt the pioneering technology in 2023, you wouldn’t bet against frictionless shopping becoming the norm as customer convenience continues to shape the retail landscape over the coming years.
Talk To Us About Frictionless Food
Are you ready to welcome the frictionless experience to your workplace? Need to learn more? Drop a line to Donnacha Ryan at donnacha.ryan@compass-group.ie for more information.
