Dutch retailer piloting new automated store format
JD.com Launches Robotic Shops “ochama” in the Netherlands
Launched in January by Chinese retail giant JD.com, the model combines an automated warehouse with a pickup shop, and is known by the new brand name “ochama,” a portmanteau of “omnichannel” and “amazing.”
Na Leiden en Rotterdam volgt Diemen. Onze 3e Pickup Shop is vanaf vandaag geopend! Neem een kijkje in onze gloednieuwe winkel of bestel gelijk via de app/website. Ontvang altijd 10% extra shoptegoed op een volgende bestelling. #GoEverythingGoOchama pic.twitter.com/IM8cK8q1XV
— Ochama_NL (@Ochama_NL) January 17, 2022
Customers begin the shopping process by ordering items through the ochama smartphone app, choosing from an array of fresh and packaged foods; household appliances; beauty, maternal, and child products; fashion apparel; and home furnishings.
They then have two options. Option A is to visit the pickup shop, where they scan a QR code generated by the app and then watch as their orders are assembled by a fleet of robots that includes AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and robotic arms, and delivered to them by conveyor belt. Option B is to skip the trip altogether and elect to use ochama’s next-day delivery service.
Either way, JD.com says the new technology drives product prices down by 10%—savings that are then passed on to consumers. But if you want to try the robot-assisted shopping experience for yourself, you’ll have to book a trip to the Netherlands. The company currently has just two ochama shops in operation—in Leiden and Rotterdam—and says the next to open will be in Amsterdam (Diemen) and Utrecht.
