Fuchsia shipping containers are popping up around France. They're tiny, unmanned stores by Boxy, and each sells 250 different grocery items.
To shop at Boxy, a customer downloads the company's app, which provides them with a personal QR code. They scan that code on entering a store, and Boxy uses a combination of weight sensors on shelves and connected cameras to detect which products they're taking. On exiting the store, they rescan their QR code and voila — they're checked out, and their receipt is sent to their phone.
Boxy stores — reused shipping containers with a footprint of just 15 m2 — can be installed anywhere and are restocked daily from central distribution centers. They're open 24/7, and with its minimal costs for real estate and labor, Boxy can charge regular supermarket prices.
The startup was founded in 2019 and just closed a EUR 25 million funding round; it plans to expand from 22 stores today to 1,000 by 2025.
