“Supermarkets throw away sixty million kilos of products every day,” says Anita Scholte, head of Sustainability at Albert Heijn. "We think that is too much."
Albert Heijn is taking a new step in reducing food waste with an AI-powered dynamic discounting test. Products are automatically discounted based on the best-before date: the shorter the best-before date, the higher the discount. A computer system takes into account various factors that influence the sale of a product in order to calculate the best discount. Pricer is the only Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) provider able to deliver real-time communication capabilities to match the system needs with sustained ESL lifetime.
Beginning on May 20th, Albert Heijn is taking a new step to fight food waste with the test of “dynamic discounting”. The products will be automatically reduced in price based on their sell-by date, with a higher discount for items that need to be sold soonest.
The solution would not have been possible without the high performance and ability to communicate in real time supplied by Pricer. Pricer is the only Electronic Shelf Label provider in the world able to deliver real-time communication capabilities to the consumers in-store wirelessly with a sustainable lifetime of the labels.
The Pricer Optical Wireless Communication Platform which the Albert Heijn dynamic pricing tests are performed upon is today the only viable solution. With the increasing number of updates of the labels and increased stress on the system, the quality and performance become increasingly important for big-box retailers.
An algorithm developed by Albert Heijn takes into account various factors to calculate the best price to eliminate unsaleable products and thus reduce waste. These factors include location, bonus offers, weather conditions, historical sales performance and in-store stock. The products are accompanied by electronic price tags with two prices: the regular price and discount at a specific expiration date.
Albert Heijn was advised for the test by anti-waste company Wasteless. Reducing food waste is an important theme in Albert Heijn’s sustainability strategy. The brand aims to eliminate half of the waste across the food chain by 2030. For more information, numbers and examples, check out www.ah.nl/duurzaam.
Artificial Intelligence offers countless possibilities for the retail industry. Across Ahold Delhaize multiple initiatives and research projects are taking place to support the Leading Together strategy and drive growth through technology.
Pricer’s platform is the enabling link to the continuous digitalization of the physical store and the demands of the digitally connected shoppers
Read the full release from Ahold Delhaize here
