Forecourt and convenience managers are no strangers to innovation, so a new smartphone app that utilises artificial intelligence to boost food-to-go sales is likely to be a welcome addition to their arsenal.
FTG Navigator is the brainchild of Matt Cundrick, a forecourt and convenience consultant who has put his years of industry experience into the smartphone application.
The app has three core functionalities: the first is a quiz that asks retailers to analyse and consider the nature of their customers; next, a checklist takes them through various areas relating to procurement, packaging, and other food-to-go considerations.
Those aspects make use of traditional software, but the final stage is where things get really clever. After taking photographs of their food-to-go displays, the app uploads these to Chat GPT’s Vision image analyser, which in turn liaises with a custom-trained GPT interface, which Cundrick has tailored to recognise and analyse their food-to-go offerings. The app then makes recommendations relating to presentation, stock levels, promotional effectiveness and other areas, providing data-backed insights and recommendations for managers to improve customer experience and, in turn, revenues.
Cundrick says he was inspired to create the app by his “hundreds of visits to forecourts over the last couple of years”, where he would find that in many instances “best practices were not in place.”
He adds: “It got to a point where I figured I should roll my sleeves up, teach myself how to code, and build something I hope will help many people out there!”
The app is currently available in Apple’s App Store, priced at £3.99, and is set to hit Android shortly. Cundrick plans to further develop the software in time so that if offers a similar service targeting confectionery, grocery, meals and other areas.
