Albertsons ‘techs out’ a new shopping experience

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Companies is betting on cloud solutions from Microsoft Corp., including Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, to provide new and transformative experiences to customers and employees.

The two companies plan to work together to leverage Azure and Azure AI and other Microsoft Cognitive Services to transform the shopping experience by eliminating the friction customers experience at the grocery store, such as not finding the products they want, longer-than-usual waits at the deli or meat counters and, of course, checkout lines, according to the press release. For store managers and associates, these intelligent solutions can also help anticipate out-of-stocks and misplaced products.

“We are reimagining the future to serve customers in a way they want to interact with us across all channels,” said Anuj Dhanda, Albertsons Companies’ executive vice president and chief information officer. “Microsoft’s strengths in cognitive technologies, artificial intelligence and data science applied at scale at Albertsons Companies will transform the customer experience in our stores and digitally.”

The partnership has already resulted in the production of a new app, called One Touch Fuel, which eliminates the hassle of prompts at the pump and saves an average time of at least 90 seconds during a fuel-up, according to the retailer. The app allows customers to pay for fuel, claim rewards and activate the pump in just one tap of the phone.