The platform developed by the Israeli startup Catch enables supermarket customers to scan their handwritten shopping lists into a "digital cart," which then guides them directly to the products. The system is currently undergoing a trial run in three Tiv Taam stores in Israel and is set to be rolled out in the supermarket chain of the German retail giant REWE.
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Catch's artificial intelligence engine analyzes the product list, creates a unique buyer profile that is updated during the purchase, and offers customized deals and coupons tailored to the buyer's preferences, including vegan and diet products, baby products, and gardening and cleaning accessories. The system can be installed on various devices, such as smart carts, tablets and smartphones.
Manual scanning of the shopping list can be done in multiple languages, including Hebrew, English, German, Arabic, Russian and Amharic. It is also possible to "send" a list to the system from WhatsApp.
There is no need for early registration or an app download, and the system maintains buyer anonymity . Additionally, the system provides valuable economic insights to the marketing network by analyzing and processing common in-store routes, consumer preferences, response rates to deals and coupons, purchase types (planned or spontaneous) and time spent by the customer near each item.
In Germany, the solution was initially introduced in over 100 carts in REWE stores in the city of Cologne as a prelude to nationwide deployment. REWE is one of the largest retail chains in Germany, boasting over 3,800 stores, 160,000 employees, and an annual turnover exceeding 28 billion euros. Catch was established in 2022 by CEO Shlomi Dayan and Itai Lishner, the current Chief Technology Officer.
The company employs 19 workers at its development center in Israel and in offices in Germany.
"Improving the shopping experience is a central issue in Europe and particularly in Germany, with consumers expecting a personalized and focused experience that is currently lacking in the physical world. We are bringing capabilities that already exist and are implemented in the online world to reality," according to Dayan.
Lishner adds: "Consumers worldwide, and especially in Germany, are hesitant to provide personal information and are willing to forgo club benefits as a result. Therefore, we have developed an AI-based platform that can profile the customer without requiring personal information or registration."