ABSTRACT
Imagine a small rural village in Sweden. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. There’s no Instacart to bring groceries, no Postmates to deliver goods to the door. It’s nighttime, and a new dad accidentally spills the only remaining bottle of baby formula on the fl oor as his hungry son wails. A run to the closest grocery store will take at least forty minutes, round trip. Robert Illiason was that dad, and that was the moment that the technology expert started thinking about alternatives. An IT consultant who works for Ikea’s automation and data department, he realized that living in a rural area, where shops close early, puts a strain on customers. Illiason came up with the idea for Näraffär (meaning “shop nearby”), the fi rst unmanned grocery store where customers could buy small items such as baby food at any time of night or day. The entire customer experience is automated via apps, cameras, and other easy-to-use technology. He literally built a solution, and now he is contacted by companies all over the world that want to replicate his work.
