CGI: The store of the future

in the heart of Lille

A showcase in the heart of the CGI Innovation Center in Lille

In 2015, we announced the opening of CGI’s 1st Global Innovation Center in Lille [ page link] Since its inauguration, the center has been constantly evolving in response to the new demands placed on retailers, testifies Jean-Baptiste Branquart [testimonial video] Most recently developed innovation: the creation of a “store of the future” that allows any retailer to deploy an effective omnichannel strategy. “The Hauts-de-France region is a hotbed of innovation. This is where the concepts of supermarkets and hypermarkets originated. This is where the big names in distribution were developed and where major innovations have emerged. The opening of this Innovation Center here in Lille will therefore be a worldwide success,” says Serge Godin, Founder and Executive Chairman of the CGI Board of Directors. This new center looks to affirm CGI’s leadership in this sector, both in France and abroad. Fully dedicated to consumer shopping and services, the Innovation Center is the ideal place for coming together and developing expertise, where people can discuss and test solutions. Martine Aubry, mayor of Lille, adds that the opening of this new CGI center is a real “accelerator for development, wealth creation, and jobs for the Lille metropolitan area and region.” CGI has invested more than €15M since its opening, creating more than 450 jobs.

CGI is opening the doors of its stores to the future

In this showcase, the entire buying process has been rethought and especially personalized by CGI. The idea is to offer customer-tailored products starting at the entrance to the store, with a facial recognition camera to personalize point-of-sale digital content based on age, sex, and other criteria. In parallel with this new technique, an application will allow salespeople to recognize the customers near them, view their profile, and offer them personalized advice, based on their purchase history, food preferences, and more. Using augmented reality, CGI’s offering is ultra-personalized. Product choices are made easier by an application that uses information provided by the customer (purchase history, personal choices, tastes, allergies, etc.) to help find the products that best meet his or her preferences. Another advantage afforded by CGI: it is a real time saver for consumers. Thanks to these new technologies, consumers see the constraints in their buying processes greatly diminished, particularly at the checkout counter (facilitated by a time-based reservation system and even an omnichannel payment system, including on mobile phones). Two major distributors have already joined the CGI-developed solution and will add this new offering to their stores in 2019. Sources: Voix du Nord, E-marketing.fr, France 3, cgi.fr, ecommercemag.fr