Shinsegae I&C announced the launch of its artificial intelligence (AI) checkout solution, 'Sparos ScanFree,' on July 28. The company aims to accelerate its entry into the domestic and international offline retail AI transformation market by enhancing its AI vision technology-based solutions.
The AI checkout solution allows customers to place multiple items on the self-checkout without scanning each product's barcode. According to the company, the previous solution recognized items with 99.5% accuracy in one second, while Sparos ScanFree can identify multiple products simultaneously with 99.9% accuracy in just 0.4 seconds. This innovation reportedly reduces customer wait times by up to nine times compared to standard self-checkout systems.
Shinsegae I&C's AI vision-based solution is designed to process data such as images and videos within the store using an edge AI structure, eliminating the need for separate servers or external graphics processing units (GPUs).
The number of recognizable product units has expanded to over 5,000 SKUs, including consumer goods and fresh produce like fruits and vegetables. The system can also identify items without barcodes, such as differently shaped breads.
An additional feature allows the AI to ask customers for clarification when it encounters ambiguity in judgment. If there are significant similarities in shape or color, the AI presents options for the customer to choose from instead of making a random decision. The AI learns from customer feedback in real-time, improving its recognition accuracy over time.
Currently, Sparos ScanFree is implemented in a smart store at the SK Hynix Icheon campus, with discussions underway for deployment in retail locations such as bakeries, convenience stores, and household goods shops.
In a store that adopted the 'Sparos ScanCare' solution introduced in 2024, the frequency of customer calls for staff assistance dropped to one-fifth compared to traditional self-checkout operations, as it compares weights before and after checkout.
Shinsegae I&C is also intensifying its efforts to penetrate the Asian market, including Japan. With the growing demand for technologies that enhance speed, accuracy, and operational stability in Japan's cashless payment and self-checkout retail market, the company plans to target well-known franchise clients in supermarkets, convenience stores, cafes, and bakeries.
CEO Yang Yoon-ji stated, "The success of offline retail AI transformation (AX) depends not just on the introduction of AI solutions but on how accurately and stably stores can operate." She added, "We plan to accelerate our overseas market entry based on our extensive experience accumulated from unmanned stores."
Yang also mentioned that the company aims to develop an expandable solution that integrates large language model (LLM) agent functions to support customer service, product guidance, and store operations in the future.
Shinsegae I&C is expanding its AI vision-based retail solution business, starting with large-scale unmanned stores. In collaboration with the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency, the company opened a pilot store for the commercialization of fully smart store technology for Emart24 in 2021. It is now enhancing its B2B solution by simply adding AI vision cameras to existing checkouts to reduce costs.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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