Mashgin, a maker of computer-vision-based self-checkout machines, announced today it has signed a deal with Circle K parent company Couche-Tard to deploy seven thousand self-checkout machines at the convenience store chain over the next three years.
The move follows the initial deployment of Mashgin systems at nearly 500 Circle K stores across the United States and Sweden since 2020. The move by the second-largest convenience store chain in North America with almost seven thousand stores will represent one of the largest ever deployments of self-checkout systems to date.
For Mashgin, the deal represents its biggest customer win yet and is yet another sign of why the company was able to recently raise a $62.5M Series B round at an impressive $1.5 billion valuation. The move represents a 700% total increase in deployments over its current installed base.
The Mashgin self-checkout system is installed at the checkout counter and enables customer checkouts without scanning barcodes. As seen in the video interview from CES in January, customers can essentially toss their items onto the small checkout pad, and the system will automatically recognize and tabulate the products.
The decision by one of the world’s largest convenience store chains to equip most of its store footprint with self-checkout is a sign of just how quickly this technology has been embraced ever since Amazon helped kickstart the category off six years ago with its Amazon Go store concept. For its part, 7-Eleven’s push into self-checkout has centered around its Mobile Checkout system, which allows users to scan items with a smartphone and pay on their smartphones.
Grocery stores like Kroger are also experimenting with self-checkout, trialing concepts like smart shopping carts. Online grocery pioneer Instacart diversified into cashierless checkout last year with the acquisition of Caper, and has recently started to call itself a ‘retail enablement platform’ provider.
