Aisle 24

Aisle 24

Aisle 24 runs cashierless, staffless grocery and convenience markets that are open 24 hours. Customers unlock the door with a membership app and pay at a self-service kiosk. The company was formed in 2015 by John Douangprachanh, Marie Yong and Josh Douang, children of a corner store proprietor, and opened what it describes as Canada's first cashierless grocery store in 2016 at a student residence in Toronto. Head office is in Toronto.

Operators visit a minimum of three times a week to restock and clean rather than staffing the store, and manage inventory and sales remotely through a cloud platform with digital shelf labels. The stores deliberately carry no tobacco or lottery, which is why the company positions them as micro markets rather than convenience stores. Roughly 10 to 15 percent of the product mix is adjusted to local demographics.

Two formats are offered. Resident Markets run 300 to 999 square feet inside condo and apartment buildings with access limited to residents. Community Markets run 1,000 square feet or more at street level with public access. A third option, Aisle 24 Express, is automated vending for very small spaces. Support covers site selection, store setup, training, marketing, payment and security systems, and an assigned account manager.