ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Canadian retailer Aisle 24 is an autonomous c-store-meets-grocery-store, open 24 hours a day and aimed at getting its customers (mostly Gen Z and millennials) in and out quickly, reports C-Store Dive.

“Saving their time is important to them. ... Get in, get out, get on with your day—that is what we’re about,” co-founder and CEO John Douang told C-Store Dive, noting that customers will often complete their visits within minutes.

Aisle 24 locations are in Toronto, Ontario and Quebec, with a dozen locations open and roughly a dozen more under construction. The retailer is planning to enter the U.S. but not until 2024 due to concerns about a recession, according to Douang.

The company was founded by Douang, his brother Josh Douang and John’s wife Marie Yong. The idea for an autonomous retailer was born out of Douang’s own desire to get items quickly while living in a condo in his 20s. His family owned a convenience store in Toronto, which provided lessons on how to run a small business, Douang told C-Store Dive.

Aisle 24 comes in two formats: a 300-900 square-foot store set in residential buildings called the resident market and a 1,000-1,800 square-foot store designed for standard commercial real estate called the community market.

“We do see that the community format is the future of Aisle 24. The resident format is great, but it’s really supplementary,” Douang told C-Store Dive, adding that the company is targeting the community market format to higher-density areas. 

Both formats have groceries, such as meat, pasta and produce, but they do not carry age-restricted items, and about 10-15% of inventory caters to the local demographic. For instance, in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighborhood, the Aisle 24 location has a lot of Gen Z and millennial shoppers, so the company chose to add more local brands to the store’s assortment.

The success drove the company to add more local and small brands across all locations, and Aisle 24 is also working on promotions based on past purchase history to create a more personalized experience.

Even though Aisle 24 is open 24 hours a day, the founders did not want to create a business model where the owner has to work long hours and close the store to take a vacation. Instead, franchise operators travel between the stores and spend a few hours at every one at least three times a week to restock and clean.

“When we developed the concept, it was very key for us to create a process whereby the operator doesn’t need to be there all the time,” Douang told C-Store Dive.

The company does provide live agents and chat support for customers who need it.

Operationally, the store’s inventory works by using digital shelf tags and inventory stocking technology. Customers have to unlock the store with an app, and this allows the company to see who has gone in and out of the store. When they create an account on the app, customers must upload a photo and card payment, which Aisle 24 validates regularly.

For security, Aisle 24 uses Axis Communications’ turret-style and height-strip cameras to monitor customers in the stores. Douang told C-Store Dive the company’s security recovery process has led to credit card charges for 95% of the items that go missing

In the U.S., the biggest autonomous retailer is Amazon with its Just Walk Out technology. The stores are popping up in airports and arenas. (NACS visited T-Mobile Park which boasts the technology in this year’s NACS Ideas 2 Go segment, “The Walk-Off Market, Powered by Amazon.”) Choice Market convenience stores in Denver offer self-checkout, walkout technology and an app, which all sync and communicate with each other. Choice Market recently opened an autonomous store at The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus that will be open 24/7.

NACS offers a free webinar on self-checkout innovations at c-stores. Pre- and post-pay fuel transactions, loyalty, cash payments and age verification are also discussed. Read more about frictionless checkout systems in “Self-Checkout Strategies” in the March issue of NACS Magazine.

Don’t miss the article “Who’s Minding the Store?” in the upcoming February issue of NACS Magazine to learn how retailers are turning to automation to engage customers and boost their bottom lines.