POZNAŃ, Poland — Żabka Group is joining Microsoft at NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show, the world’s largest convention and expo for retail companies, in New York City. Żabka Nano, an autonomous store concept that has been developed under the umbrella of Żabka Future for over a year and a half, will be featured at the Microsoft Booth (#4503). The NRF conference is held in New York from January 15 to 17, 2023.
NRF: Retail’s Big Show is one of the industry’s most important events. The sessions, with the participation of speakers and supplemented by the expo, provide a platform for the exchange of information and experiences related to the latest trends affecting the development of the global retail industry. This year, the event will feature over 175 sessions, 350+ speakers, and more than 800 exhibitors.
“Participation in this prestigious event is not only an opportunity for us to establish new partnerships but also an opportunity to present Żabka as one of the world’s most innovative companies in the retail industry. Warsaw, thanks to our concept, has become the world capital of autonomous stores, so I am glad that we have the opportunity to present this project to a global audience. We want to show you how our new technologies, created in cooperation with our partners, make life easier and free up our customers’ time,” said Tomasz Blicharski, EVP, Managing Director of Żabka Future.
The autonomous Żabka Nano store showcase presented during the NRF conference is available for registered attendees to tour from January 15 to 17. The Żabka Nano is a globally unique project that combines a physical and digital store. The innovative concept, allowing for quick shopping without checkout clerks, queues, and cash, is precisely adapted to the nature of the location and the profile of customers. Stores operate in several formats, such as standalone container vending machines, traditional brick-and-mortar outlets, or store-in-the-store. Each uses technology developed in close cooperation with American technology company AiFi and leverages Microsoft Azure. The first Żabka Nano store was established in June 2021 in Poznań. Currently, the Żabka Group manages the largest chain of autonomous stores in Europe with more than 50 outlets.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Microsoft and Żabka Group at the world’s largest retail event. Having surpassed more than 50 AiFi-powered Żabka stores recently, the demand for autonomous checkout in convenience stores is quickly rising, and we’re proud to have proven our ability to deploy autonomous stores at record speed in partnership with Żabka,” said Steve Carlin, CEO of AiFi.
Representatives of the Żabka Group discussed the digital transformation that has been going within the chain since 2016, also during the substantive part of the event. On January 15, Tomasz Blicharski talked about the concept of Żabka Nano during the NRF BIG Ideas session “Resilient retail. Achieve more with Microsoft Cloud for Retail.” The session was led by Shelley Bransten, Global Corporate Vice President, Retail & Consumer Goods Industries at Microsoft.
“Digital technology that enables experiences like autonomous stores is what will make the difference between retailers that thrive and those that get left behind,” said Shelley Bransten, Global Corporate Vice President, Retail & Consumer Goods Industries, Microsoft. “In collaboration with Microsoft partner AiFi, we’re pleased to bring the Żabka Nano store checkout-free solution to life at NRF 2023 and to show the global retail industry what’s possible for autonomous stores through Żabka’s successful deployment.”
