Standard AI buys self-checkout firm Skip

  • February 13, 2023
  • Steve Rogerson

California-based autonomous retail company Standard AI has bought self-checkout provider Skip.

The aim is to connect self-checkout with AI-powered autonomous checkout into one integrated experience. The combination should give retailers a self-checkout option with a clearly-defined path to an autonomous future.

Standard AI plans to integrate Utah-based Skip’s cloud-based point of sale (PoS) with the complex back-office ecosystem to streamline operations and give greater control over price, discounts, promotions and more.

Retail AI has transformed what’s possible in a physical store. Retailers use Standard Checkout, part of the Vision OS platform, to transform existing stores into checkout-free retail experiences. It offers fast and accurate time-to-receipt and insights about store operations all from one platform. 

Hiring and retaining staff is a problem for retail, one that threatens to limit growth and store performance. This has fuelled a renewed energy for self-checkout as a strategy for retailers seeking to solve labour problems. Skip is a self-checkout innovator that offers easy-to-install kiosks and mobile checkout technology.

“Autonomous retail has seen exponential growth, and in the next five years we’ll see thousands of AI-powered stores across the world,” said Jordan Fisher, CEO of Standard AI. “Through this acquisition, we will create a unique offering that combines the self-checkout experience with autonomous retail for the first time ever to give retailers immediate relief from their labour challenges and a way to accelerate their path to an autonomous future.” 

Standard AI says it is the first to connect self checkout with autonomous retail. This will empower retailers to offer checkout experiences to the entire base of shoppers that come through the door. It will also offer shoppers a way to access autonomous retail experiences through the self-checkout kiosks with which they’re already familiar.

Skip kiosks can be installed quickly while providing robust functionality.

“Skip has differentiated itself in a crowded field of self-checkout,” said Chase Thomason, CEO of Skip. “In addition to being modular and easy to install, it delivers all the functionality required by retailers at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. By integrating with Standard AI, we are now taking our kiosks to the next level and working on solutions that will go beyond them as we create the future of autonomous checkout.”

Later this year, Standard AI plans to bring to market a platform that connects self-checkout with autonomous retail. Standard AI will continue to sell Skip standalone or together with its Vision OS offering upon close of the acquisition.

This means users can get both the self-checkout and autonomous checkout experience in one offering. This combination will support the entire shopper base, alleviate labour challenges, unlock analytics and insights, and won’t require sacrifices around shrink or customer experience.

“Standard AI’s addition of Skip’s self-checkout creates a well-rounded suite of capabilities to address varying levels of retailer needs from traditional self checkout to fully-autonomous stores and hybrid stores in-between,” said Kevin Struthers, associate director of digital at the W Capra consultancy. “Additionally, Skip’s cloud-based point-of-sale system and back-office integrations will help streamline retailer implementations, especially for stores operating hybrid models that include a fixed register with self-checkout or autonomous capabilities.”