Disrupting Retail: India-based ‘Amazon Go’ Competitor Watasale Sets Eyes on Global Stage

“We have a broad vision for Watasale as this technology can be applied for any horizontals including packaged food, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and FMCG items.” – Subhash S

An India-based company is bringing out revolutionary innovations to ward-off unnecessary complications of present shopping. The complications such as scanning the products, generating the bill, presenting credit or debit card (entering pin is troublesome), and checking of the bill at exit point etc – are horrendous. Such procedures would be a thing of past with the launch of this high tech autonomous store. This company, Watasale, is to compete with Amazon Go, an autonomous store launched by Amazon early this year in Seattle, USA.

Watasale, based in Kerala’s Cochin city, is one of the world’s most technologically advanced stores. Using cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, computer vision, Deep Learning, and sensor fusion, the company has created India’s first autonomous, cashier less, cashless, scanning free, one of a kind store.

Watasale: How it Works

It’s very simple. Walk into the store, open the Watasale app, scan the QR code at the gates to enter, pick up the items you want, and just walk out. That is all. No waiting, no checkout, no scanning. Bill amount will be automatically deducted from your account while you walk away.

Watasale: What it Means to Retail?

In the competitive retail arena, the introduction of new technologies to enhance customer satisfaction and minimizing costs are of paramount importance. It’s essential to be innovative to remain in the competitive retail sector. ‘Just walk out technology’ is the ultimate smooth retail experience. Global leaders like Amazon and Walmart endorsing this technology gives ominous signs of global adaptation. Without a doubt, this is the biggest retail technology which can very well become an imperative for players to stay competitive in the market.

Studies point to the fact that cashier less stores are the future of retail outlets. The opportunities from this technology are vast, such as:

• Stores can remain open 24x7 with very little human intervention.
• Unprecedented data available to give complete insights on store inventory. Stock and stock outs get updated instantly.
• Customer knows whether the product he wants is there, before walking into the store.
• Customer need not park their bags outside the store. No shoplifting possible.
• ‘Watasale’ concept can be used in retailing any product type ranging from ice creams to packed items.

Watasale: Vision for Future

Speaking to The Silicon Review’s Principal Correspondent Javid Ali, the Chief Executive Officer of Watasale, Subhash S, said: “We have a broad vision for Watasale as this technology can be applied for any horizontals including packaged food, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and FMCG items.”

Watasale plans to expand to Delhi and Bangalore in the coming months. The company has plans to go global in the near future, he added.

Another very unique aspect of this store is that the entire technology including all the designs, software and hardware components and structural work has been done entirely by the in-house team, the CEO further added.

The company plans to open up the franchisee business in the near future. “We have received an immense response from the limited number franchisee invitations made last month.”

Watasale Leadership

Subhash S; CEO, Dileep Jacob; Chairman, Richu Jose; COO, Vinci Mathews; CFO, Rajesh Malamal; CMO, and Shanoop Sivadas; CIO.