IMAGR

IMAGR operates within the retail technology sector, providing a solution to streamline the in-store shopping process for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailers. The company was founded in Sydney, Australia, in 2015 by William Chomley, who was inspired to eliminate checkout queues after growing tired of waiting in line during his lunch breaks. Chomley, who had a background in finance, faced significant initial challenges, including 202 unsuccessful funding pitches, before securing the first investment in New Zealand, which prompted him to relocate the company to Auckland in 2016.

The core of IMAGR's offering is the 'SmartCart', a shopping cart retrofitted with a system of cameras and lights that utilize computer vision and artificial intelligence. This technology identifies products as they are placed into or removed from the cart in real-time, eliminating the need for traditional barcode scanning. To use the system, a shopper pairs their smartphone with the cart via an app, where a virtual basket tracks items and maintains a running total. Payment is processed automatically through the app when the shopper leaves the store. This business model aims to provide a frictionless shopping experience for consumers while offering retailers a scalable solution that doesn't require a complete and costly store overhaul with ceiling-mounted cameras, a different approach from competitors like Amazon Go.

IMAGR generates revenue by providing its white-label autonomous checkout system to retailers. The technology also offers additional benefits to store owners, such as inventory management and the ability to analyze shopper behavior patterns to offer personalized promotions or recipes in real-time. The company has secured significant investment, including a seed round of over $1 million in 2017 from Sage Technologies and a $9.5 million round in 2020 led by Toshiba Tec. A key milestone was the live deployment of its SmartCarts in an Oasis supermarket in Osaka, Japan, in early 2021, a result of its partnership with Toshiba.

Keywords: retail technology, computer vision, smart cart, autonomous checkout, AI in retail, frictionless shopping, checkout-less technology, retail automation, in-store experience, FMCG retail, inventory management, shopper analytics, point of sale innovation, grocery technology, queue elimination, smart trolley, image recognition retail, William Chomley, Toshiba Tec partnership, Auckland startup