Next-Gen Shopping App Introduces Aisle Sat-Nav, Facial Age-Verification, Queue-Less and Till-Less Checkout To The High Street

Ubamarket is the only tech of its kind to increase purchases and secure more footfall for high street retailers. This is a much-needed solution amidst the decline of the UK retail industry following the rise of e-commerce, which has seen large quantities of customers move to online shopping for everyday consumer products and groceries.  

The previous iteration of the app, already in use in several SPAR, Londis and Warner’s Budgens stores across the UK and Ireland, has seen a 92% adoption and re-use rate amongst customers, and has showcased an average increase of purchases in-store by 21% across the board. The next generation app is also set to be adopted by several Co-Op stores, following the dramatic success of Ubamarket in other retailers. 

The Ubamarket app features a range of AI-backed features, which dramatically enhances the shopping experience and ushers in a new age of physical retail.

Features of the app include:

• Supermarket sat-nav – Ubamarket guides customers around the store to products they have saved on their personal shopping list, cutting shopping time and reducing spend
• Totally Till-less– customers can scan products/shelves as they shop and then check-out and pay in app, completely bypassing queues  
• Facial recognition – the app can now approve the customer for products which would typically require an age check with no need for assistance by store managers or cashiers (subject to the customer having uploaed a valid form of ID)
• Automatic loyalty points – Ubamarket’s app offers exclusive access to deals and offers reserved for app users, and customers automatically collect loyalty points at their local stores
• Dietary and allergen sensitive shopping – customers receive dietary andallergen alerts for every product and can shop according to dietary or allergen requirements
• Environmentally conscious shopping: to help customer and retailers shop more sustainably, the app provides information on which packaging can and can’t be recycled in a customer’s shop, and will summarise the environmental footprint of the overall shop at checkout with the Plastic Alerts feature. 

Ubamarket’s latest research displays just why mobile technology is so helpful for customers and retailers alike – it appears that British shopping habits have changed, and that greater access to consumer data can help retailers to effectively maintain and grow their consumer base. This research also suggests that a huge proportion of the British public are receptive to using technology to improve their shopping experience:

• 52% of people in the UK (almost 24 million people) are happy for retailers to collect consumer data if they can benefit from money-saving opportunities
• 24% of people in the UK (10 million people)say food retail is the only sector in which they appreciate personalised offers
• 23% of shoppers (over 9 million people) have lost up to hundreds of pounds worth of savings and offers through lack of information or the inconvenience of loyalty cards

CEO of Ubamarket, Will Broome, comments on the launch of the app and discusses how technology can encourage consumers back into physical stores:

“2019 was an unbelievably tough year for the retail industry, but I think the pessimistic view taken by many that the high street is dying is simply not true. In my view, it all comes back to the experience. If the physical store does not offer an attractive experience and compelling money-saving opportunities, the customer can fall back on e-commerce.

“Ubamarket’s mobile technology helps retailers to offer customers an incredible experience when they come to shop at their stores. Not only does our technology revitalise and revolutionise the process of shopping in-store for customers, but it also provides retailers with a much-needed method to get back on track and ensure they can thrive in the midst of a tough climate for the industry. 

“What’s more, our research clearly shows that a huge portion of consumers are receptive to mobile technology already, and these numbers are only set to grow as technology permeates our society further. Technology gives shoppers a reason to get up off the couch and feel excited to shop in-person again, and at Ubamarket, we are committed to providing this technology to help traditional retailers not only survive, but thrive.”

The demo app is now available to experience on the AppStore and Google PlayStore, and customers can register to test the experience at Ubamarket’s website here.