Toshiba Tec starts joint project with Retail AI
~"ELERA" collaboration with Smart Shopping Cart~

September 16, 2022
Toshiba Tec Corporation

Toshiba Tec Corporation (HQ: Tokyo; President and CEO: Hironobu Nishikori; Toshiba Tec) and Retail AI, Inc. (HQ: Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Hiroyuki Nagata; Retail AI) start a joint project aiming to "create a new era of shopping experience and revolutionizing retail operations".

In recent years, the labor shortage in the retailers is becoming a serious social issue and it is urgently required for them to build a new structure to operate its stores with a small number of employees. In addition, it is also vital to promote initiatives to propose new customer experiences and to enhance attractiveness of its stores with a view to responding to diversified needs of customers. To deal with these crucial issues for the retailers and propose them of suitable solutions to individual stores, we promote structuring eco-system through our strongly developing global retail platform "ELERATM" via APIs, and co-creation with partners to expand lineup of services on "ELERA".

ELERA in collaboration with the shopping cart, Smart Shopping Cart

Under this joint project with Retail AI which has commercialized the shopping cart with payment function ahead of the industry, Toshiba Tec is planning to provide new solutions to its retail customers by "ELERA" in collaboration with the shopping cart, Smart Shopping Cart (hereinafter called "SSC"). Toshiba Tec aims to start its new service after Spring, 2023 after conducting Proof of Concept (PoC) with several retail customers to confirm the functionality of "SSC" on the Toshiba Tec's platform, "ELERA".

Toshiba Tec is committed to continuously create the future of retail business while promoting the development of eco-system to realize a revolutionary digital transformation (DX) in the retail industry through co-creation with its customers and partners.

About "ELERA" by Toshiba

The ELERATM unified cloud commerce platform and suite of solutions accelerate digital transformation, empowering retailers to remove boundaries between physical and digital stores. Toshiba's ELERA, enables retailers to rapidly reimagine, create, and scale compelling and cohesive experiences for their customers—whenever, wherever, and however they shop.

Via a microservices-based, API-first approach, ELERA enables smarter, faster, and more flexible deployments by using advanced technology such as *AI and computer vision to transform the physical store and merge it with the digital world. As a result, retailers can finally experiment relentlessly to unify and scale store functions and interconnect them with their digital commerce capabilities to deliver faster growth and unparalleled experiences that accelerate the future of retail.

*AI and computer vision services are not scheduled to launch in Japan at this moment (September 2022).

About Retail AI's Smart Shopping Cart

Retail AI's Smart Shopping Cart is an in-store shopping cart that offers customers a new-generation shopping experience by enabling a smooth checkout without the need to stand in line. The Smart Shopping Cart currently has 9,115 units installed and was used by 1.8 million customers of all age groups during the month of August 2022. Retail AI's Smart Shopping Cart stands out with its unique unscanned item prevention technology and an in-house developed AI recommendation and promotion engine, which improves store profitability and enhances the customers' shopping experience.

Retail AI's Smart Shopping Cart

**All brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.