The sign at the South Broadway Enerbase location teases the new store being built, which will be among the first of such automated locations in North Dakota.

Three years removed from the anxiety and uncertainty of lockdowns and work furloughs during the pandemic, some industries and job markets are still finding themselves short staffed.

Help wanted signs have become a common sight up and down the Broadway strip, as business owners and employers contend not only with poor worker retention but an utter dearth in applicants and job seekers. For Enerbase Cooperative Resources General Manager Tony Bernhardt, the time has come to embrace new solutions to the workforce problem.

“With technology and the shortage of people in the workforce, to me it makes sense to go to the next level with more automation if that works in your favor,” Bernhardt said. “It’s not a matter of not wanting to hire people or employees, we just can’t continue counting on getting workers from our competition. It’s a matter of using technology that is coming.”

And what is coming to the new Enerbase store being built at the old location on South Broadway will be a first for the cooperative and a first in North Dakota – a convenience store sans registers, made possible by a state-of-the-art automated point-of-sale system.

“We went into some of our stores, and we have self-check-out, but this is a step above that,” Bernhardt said. “As much as people are in a hurry in today’s society, they can walk in and go at their own pace. If they are in a hurry, they can just grab their stuff and walk right back out.”

Bernhardt became aware of the technology while traveling and finding a register-free, unstaffed shop during a layover at a Dallas airport. The process begins before you even walk through the door, as you swipe or tap a credit or debit card. No cash purchases will be possible at this location, and a credit card will be required for entry.

The technology consists of dozens upon dozens of high-definition video cameras and a rack of servers processing the footage. The gadgets that make up the automated teller system are able to track individual shoppers as they move about the store and grab their purchases. Once customers have completed their shopping, they can bag up their purchases or simply just walk out the door, triggering a point of sale for every item they took with them.

“Each customer or individual is tracked by a heat sensor. If it’s you and your spouse, you and your kids walking in, everything they grab gets thrown in the same cart and goes right to the same card. It’s just so unique and so new that I’m excited about it. It’s a different way of thinking. A different way of shopping,” Bernhardt said.

According to Bernhardt, this will allow employees to focus on the nuts and bolts of the job and improve employee retention in a job market that has left many businesses coming up short staffed. The automated store will require only two employees working at any given time. Now freed from the obligation and responsibility of manning a register, workers will be able to focus on stocking, cleaning and aiding customers.

Another appeal behind the system for Bernhardt is that it functionally prevents all manner of retail theft and shoplifting, as each customer and “transaction” is tracked, no matter how sly a sticky-fingered shopper might be.

“If you take something off the shelf and let’s say you want to just put it in your pocket because you think you’re going to get away with it, it’s in your possession. If you eat it, it’s still in your possession, and you will be charged for it when you leave. So, there’s no more stealing,” Bernhardt said.

The new store is under construction and should be open for business next April or May. It will include a new car wash along with all of the other bells and whistles making the magic happen inside.

“The opportunity for us here is that we can pay a higher wage, because we won’t need as many employees,” Bernhardt said. “We can utilize our employees much better. This isn’t a ploy to get rid of employees. It’s a ploy to keep employees for longevity. We want people to stick and to have a long career with Enerbase.”