Customers enter by identifying themselves with their mobile phone number. Photo credit: ACHPF/Shutterstock
If you have ever needed a drink, a sandwich or a snack at an awkward hour, you will know how useful it is to find a shop that is actually open. Now, a Catalan chain that lets customers shop without going through a traditional checkout is bringing its round-the-clock convenience stores to Spain’s airports, starting with a new shop at Barcelona-El Prat. Big Fish is not a conventional supermarket. Its small, automated shops sell ready-to-eat food, drinks, snacks and other convenience products for people who need something quickly, rather than somewhere to do their weekly shopping.
The stores operate 24 hours a day and are designed to let customers pick up what they need without waiting for a cashier. The new shop occupies 60 square metres in Terminal 2 of Barcelona-El Prat Airport, in the international departures area near the W boarding gates and beside the duty-free store. It is Big Fish’s first airport location and takes the company into the travel retail market, where passengers often have limited time to buy food or drinks before boarding.
How does the automated shop work?
Customers enter by identifying themselves with their mobile phone number and bank card. Once inside, they can browse the shelves, pick up products and leave without scanning their purchases or paying at a conventional till. The system uses cameras, intelligent sensors and computer vision to identify which products customers take or return.
It then calculates the bill automatically, with payment handled through the card registered when entering the shop. The technology comes from Techtail, another business within Grupo Moure, which also owns Big Fish. Rather than relying on vending machines, the format allows customers to walk around a shop, handle products and check packaging before deciding what to buy.
At the airport, Big Fish is using its READY concept, built around products that are ready to take away, eat or drink. The range is intended for quick purchases during a journey, from refreshments to food that can be eaten before boarding or taken onto a flight. The shop is open around the clock, according to airport operator Aena. That means passengers can use it outside the opening hours of many conventional retailers, including those travelling on early departures or late-night flights.
Big Fish expands across Spain
The airport opening brings Big Fish’s Spanish network to ten stores. The chain has recently expanded in Madrid, adding locations in Vicálvaro and Vallecas, and is continuing to look for new sites. Before entering airport retail, the business had focused on convenience locations where people want to make quick purchases, including service stations and other busy sites. Barcelona-El Prat gives the company a new setting for its automated format, with a steady flow of travellers who may want refreshments without spending time in a queue.
The airport shop follows a tender awarded by Aena, the operator of Spain’s airport network. For Techtail, the location also provides an opportunity to put its automated retail technology to work in an international airport environment. There has been no confirmed announcement of further Big Fish airport openings, so Barcelona-El Prat remains its first location in this sector. But with ten stores now operating across Spain and the company exploring further sites, the airport launch marks another step in its expansion.