Listen to this article

ShopRite is rolling out some pretty “cool” technology to help fulfill curbside and delivery orders.

As part of a collaboration with Phononic, the supermarket is the first in the nation to launch the freezer tech company’s new tri-temp tote picking, storage and staging system. According to Wakefern Food Corp.-owned banner, the solution enables it to operate in a way that’s more efficient, sustainable and cost-effective.

Deployed at ShopRite in Fishkill, N.Y., the actively cooled totes – which operate without traditional refrigerants – are used to pick, store and stage online orders.

ShopRite is also supported with 24/7 information-sharing capabilities from Phononic. The company provides data on tote utilization, cold chain compliance and energy consumption so the store can maximize usage and efficiency of the system.

Since it began testing the system, ShopRite said the tote size and portability allowed a 70% reduction in staging room requirements with no impact on order volume. The retailer has also observed reduced congestion during peak hours.

New opportunities

ShopRite President Steve Savas said, “The recent launch of the Phononic 2nd Generation ACS totes allowed us to create an ‘Order. Pickup. Deliver.’ department in a store with a smaller building footprint. Local customers can now pick up their online orders at the store or have them delivered.”

“We are always looking for opportunities to be at the forefront of innovation in digital commerce, and we are excited to be the first grocer in the nation with this technology,” he said.

“As the industry’s only solid-state cooling solution for curbside, Phononic’s Actively-Cooled tote makes economic sense,” said Larry Yang, chief product officer at Durham, N.C.-headquartered Phononic. “Not only is it easy to integrate the totes into ShopRite’s existing operations, but it’s incredibly scalable — capable of growing easily alongside ShopRite’s booming curbside business, and agile enough to keep up with daily order fluctuations.”

Over the past year, the Keasbey-based grocery cooperative has introduced several other innovative gadgets to meet changing consumer expectations.

As part of a partnership with retail solution provider Simbe Robotics, Tally, an inventory-checking robot, is being deployed to a growing number of ShopRite locations.

Many stores in the co-op are now using mobile scan, which allows shoppers to scan groceries with their smart phone, and experimenting with artificial intelligence-powered carts, as well as expanding and improving self-checkout terminals.