Q&A with Om Shankar: “We’re launching the world's most advanced vending machine”

Juxta unveils its first autonomous micro-retail store for the U.S. market. CEO Om Shankar sat down with PetrolPlaza to speak about how these modular units can benefit fuel and convenience retailers, the role they can play at EV charging hubs, and what separates them from the competition.

Om Shankar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Juxta. By leading the new Vontier start up, he wants to help convenience retailers gain territory over big box retailers and change the convenience paradigm. Originally from Texas, he has various engineering degrees and is experienced in the oil and fuels sector. Most recently, he was the European Marketing Director at Gilbarco Veeder-Root.

Autonomous shopping has seen a rapid growth over the last 5 years, representing one of the biggest trends in the convenience store industry. The latest development in this trend is modular stores that can be easily transported and integrated. One of the industry’s most important players, Gilbarco Veeder-Root (GVR) and parent company Vontier, has now joined the race for the future of retail with the launch of Juxta, a new global venture that designs and implements portable, unmanned, micro-retail stores.

Q. Autonomous stores have become a new focal point in the mobility and convenience sector. When did this project begin and how did it come about?

A. Vontier has started to focus on corporate innovation. Our vision is that the convenience retail market is shifting slowly. Our customers are trying to identify what their growth strategies are to beat the macro elements at play. The convenience store of the past is wrapped around a car. People being in a car and having a destination they need to go to. Vontier wanted to find the next paradigm of convenience and bring it to the market. We spoke to many people in the space and came back with two major challenges. First, labour is broken, and it will be broken forever – it will be harder and harder to bring people to this industry. Second, the expectations for convenience have never been higher, partly due to the rise of e-commerce. We are living in the age of convenience. 

How do we bring that convenience to the sector? In the U.S. last mile has been a strong concept. We wanted to make a concept that is the last fifty feet. We can leverage these amazing brands our customers have developed over decades and slap it the face of consumers. Why can’t there be a 7-Eleven in a cul-de-sac of a neighbourhood? Or a Yesway at every intersection of every college campus? 

Q. What’s the current status of Juxta and when can we expect to see the first units?

A. After the official launch of Juxta Nomad on September 1 there will be one store going live every six weeks for the rest of the year. We’re working with various customers in the U.S. The focus for now will be the U.S. convenience retail space and EV market. We want to work with different charge point operators to give them access to a convenient amenity in locations where they don't have any. The EV market will succeed when EV players think more holistically about consumer needs. They need to provide an experience, and hopefully Juxta can help fill in the gaps.

Q. We have seen a fast rise in autonomous stores and, more recently, modular units. What would you say retailers and other technology suppliers have got wrong in this initial phase?

A. We can start with the experience. There are a lot of technology players that are looking to craft this incredible experience based on an app. The amount of tech in some of the stores throws consumers off. We want to look at this development through the eyes of consumers. We spoke to thousands of heavy c-stores consumers. We asked them very specific questions like how they want to enter a store. Most people don't want to download an app. We've also hidden the cameras around the store so it's not a stressful environment to shop in. Another element is that consumers need to trust in the experience. Some of these stores take a day to send the receipt. That's too long. 

Making a shift to true autonomous check out is a paradigm shift in a retailer's business model. One of the benefits that we bring is that Juxta is a corporate start up under Vontier. We have the backing of a $3 billion organisation and thousands of service technicians out in the field. Another key element of our system is that it’s plug-and-play – it works with any system around the world.

Q. GVR's biggest client base still are fuel retailers. How do these modular units improve their business?

A. We are talking to customers around the world with fuel-only sites. As that profit pool dilutes over time due to a shifting car parc, what is stopping them from putting a c-store at those fuel-only forecourts to create a new revenue stream? Our customers are trying to figure out what their EV future is. A major player we spoke to in the U.S. is planning to put charging sites every 60 miles on remote highway locations. How do they serve those customers that are charging for 40 minutes? Other clients have car wash-only sites where they can also put a Juxta unit. The use cases are really exciting. We talked to a retailer that plans to refurbish a portion of its 200-site network. You can now avoid the downtime those stores suffer by having one or two modular stores moving around. This is not meant to kill off the existing c-store; it’s the extension of that concept.

Q. How long does it take to install and uninstall a module?

A. Time to delivery is something we are working on. The only job the retailer has is to stock the shelves. The deployed unit is already connected to their back office. Inventory, taxes, prices, promotions... That's all in the system because of the technology we bring. Our thesis right now is that one person can run between 8 to 12 units a day. The AI in our system can identify when the store needs to be cleaned and stocked up. Our goal is to solve the labour problem – that includes installation, operation and transfer. We were able to do the whole move of a store to a new location in one day.

Q. Fresh food represents one of the biggest categories in convenience retail. How does the system make that a viable option?

A. These stores really work when you focus on fast moving items tailored to each location that generate higher margins. The idea of fresh food is critically important to us. We have to deploy these stores to understand how fresh food really works but it's possible. We will be monitoring inventories and our AI system will propose changes. Out tag line is "targeted retail anywhere."

Q. Customer adoption is a key factor in this. Some people still struggle with self checkout. How will you bridge that gap to ensure the customer feels comfortable?

A. We've been watching people a lot and we found that people are slow on their first experience. Our repeat customers now act very quickly. We've learned that if the experience is simple people will adapt. We made a conscious decision to not retrofit existing stores with autonomous technology. Our format wanted to offer something different – the world's most advanced vending machine.

Interview by Oscar Smith Diamante

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