New AI Supermarket in Atlanta Targets Health-Minded, Time-Strapped Shoppers

Green Picks Market opened its first autonomous grocery store last week in metro Atlanta. Located at the Attiva residential building along Peachtree Boulevard in Chamblee, the healthy grocery store is where area customers can purchase certified brands and local organic products without waiting at a checkout lane.

Customers enter the modern store with a QR code generated on the grocer’s app. They can then shop without the need to scan or check out items with a cashier. Green Picks Market’s shopping technology is based on the use of high-definition cameras coupled with AI that detects the products customers choose and place in a bag. Once customers leave the store with the chosen items, the credit card registered on their account is charged. The frictionless store has staff on hand to support customers if needed.

[Read more: “Laying the Operational Foundation for Autonomous Stores”]

Aimed at addressing food quality gaps within the Chamblee neighborhood, the Green Picks Market stocks only certified foods. Customers can find items that are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, organic, non-GMO, Kosher Certified, Paleo Friendly, and more.

Green Picks Market already reportedly has plans for expansion to other parts of the Atlanta area in the works.

Independent grocer Nourish + Bloom is also gearing up to bring two more of its autonomous stores to Atlanta. Hailed as the first Black-owned autonomous grocery store, Nourish + Bloom opened its first location in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville, Ga., in early 2022. This year, the company was awarded an Economic Opportunity Fund Food Access Grant for up to $600,000 from Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development arm, to bring more of the container-built locations to the area.

In addition, global technology and micro-convenience startup Juxta is bringing its targeted retail concept to the United States with autonomous, portable and unstaffed Nomad micro-stores. The concept debuted at the Renewal 2023 music festival in Buena Vista, Colo., this summer, and more stores are set to be rolled out in several states. Juxta has already established a partnership with Watkinsville, Ga.-based Golden Pantry Food Stores. The food retailer’s first Nomad store will open in Watkinsville’s Wire Park, a mixed-use development with apartments, offices, restaurants and an events space housed in a repurposed factory.