Toby Pickard visits Continente Bom Dia Leiria: Autonomous retail at full scale

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As part of a visit organized by Sensei, Toby Pickard, Retail Futures Senior Partner at IGD, explored the Continente Bom Dia autonomous store in Leiria, powered by Sensei’s technology. The visit provided a close-up view of how AI-native retail is operating successfully at scale, combining a familiar supermarket experience with the benefits of advanced automation.

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During the tour, Toby experienced how customers can enter freely, select from over 12,000 products, and leave without queuing or scanning, while Sensei’s proprietary technology automatically builds their basket and processes payment in the background. This natural experience is attracting shoppers from surrounding areas, with the store averaging more than three thousand baskets every day. It now ranks among the top five in the Bom Dia network by sales performance, consistently outperforming comparable stores without autonomous checkout.

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Beyond the customer journey, the visit also highlighted how automation drives operational efficiency. More than 70% of all transactions are completed autonomously, freeing staff from repetitive checkout tasks. New products are recognised and added to the system automatically, without requiring staff intervention, and real-time insights guide replenishment and planogram compliance. This enables faster, more accurate restocking, improves product availability, and allows teams to focus on customer service and fresh counters. Significant time is also saved at the end of large trolley shops, with customers able to complete their purchases in a fraction of the usual time.

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Reflecting on his experience, Toby Pickard said:

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“The ability to get something instantaneously and speed up the shopping process was fantastic. For me, it’s a real game-changer.”

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Toby’s visit underscored how, with Sensei’s technology, Continente has moved beyond the concept stage to deliver a fully scaled, high-performing supermarket, one that generates measurable business results while keeping the shopping experience simple, intuitive, and accessible to everyone.

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