The global technology and micro convenience company, JUXTA, recently launched its fully equipped, pre-assembled, autonomously operated JUXTA Nomad. This micro convenience store was created to support customers in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) charging sector. The 264-sq-ft JUXTA Nomad can be fully installed and operational within 12 hours, enabling drivers and passengers to purchase food and drinks while waiting for their vehicles to charge.

The first customers to experience the JUXTA Nomad were Renewal 2023 festival goers in Buena Vista, Colorado, in September. The Nomad’s ability to travel and cater to high-demand yet remote locations was on full display as it served thousands of customers 24 hours a day during the event.

Renewal 2023 launched a new partnership for JUXTA with Choice Market, a retailer headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with outlets across the state. The first Choice Market Nomad micro-store will open in Denver, making it Colorado’s very first portable, autonomous, convenience store, marking a transformative shift in how technology is reshaping the traditional retail experience.

Another retail partnership has been formed with Golden Pantry Food Stores, a group headquartered in Watkinsville, Georgia. Golden Pantry’s first Nomad store will open in Wire Park in Watkinsville. This modern, mixed-use development, which includes apartments, offices, restaurants, microbrewery, and a multi-faceted events space, has been crafted from a repurposed factory. The integration of JUXTA’s autonomous store at such a location aims to cater to the diverse range of daily visitors, 24 hours a day and without the need to staff the store.

With no requirement to accommodate staff or a counter, optimum space is devoted to stock within the 264 square feet (24.5 meter) Nomad interior. Coupled with state-of-the-art shelving and presentation units, the expanse enables customers to stock between 500 and 600 fast-moving, high-margin items. Minus Forty refrigerators and freezers keep perishable items cold, while an LG mini-split provides space heating and cooling.

Inside the Nomad, shelf and cabinet sensors instantly detect when an item is picked up, and an array of cameras will anonymously identify by whom. The information is combined in the cloud to create a digital basket for each customer. If a family or group of shoppers enter the store, JUXTA’s AI-driven technology will collate their purchases.

Customers can verify their purchased items -- and, where legislation is appropriate, JUXTA’s technology will enable compliant age-restricted items to be purchased as well -- on a large touchscreen before they exit the store, or they can exit the store, entrusting the technology to record their purchases and charge their credit or debit card as appropriate.

“Our proprietary technology and store format combination, working in partnership with renowned brands, has the power to redefine the industry,” said Om Shankar, co-founder of JUXTA. “Our solution mitigates multitude challenges in the retail segment, from real estate cost and utilization, squeezed profit margins, access to 24-hour service, labor shortages, and staffing issues, including instant, simple and contactless pay, and quick setup in any location, no matter how remote. The Nomad offers an all ‘round seamless solution to these challenges and at the same time, we believe it to be the most profitable per square foot convenience retail format in the world.”