SANTA ANA, CALIF. — Orange County, Calif.-based Adroit Worldwide Media (AWM) opened QuickEats at Nineteen01, an autonomous micromarket in Santa Ana, on Tuesday. The store is located on the ground floor of Nineteen01, an apartment community at 1901 E. First St. Greenwood & McKenzie owns the property.
QuickEats utilizes Frictionless, AWM’s proprietary shopping solution of a low-contact, cashierless marketplace. The store will offer a variety of products, including sodas, water, specialty items, fresh grab-and-go foods and household items ranging from cleaning products and toilet paper to dog food.
“When we planned the launch of QuickEats many months ago, we never could have imagined the circumstance our community now faces, as Orange County practices social distancing due to the coronavirus,” said Kevin Howard, CEO of AWM. “We made the decision to open our doors because QuickEats can provide vital, food, drink and personal care items to Nineteen01’s residents in a completely frictionless environment that adheres to the current protocols being requested by Orange County’s health officer.”
Customers enter the market through an entry gate using a personalized QR code downloaded from the QuickEats app. Cameras placed throughout the store track traffic, and customers are assigned a random, anonymous ID when they begin shopping.
The system detects when customers interact with products and whether to add or subtract those items from their cart. Upon leaving the store, shoppers are charged for items that they take from the store through their digital wallet and receive a receipt via email or text.