A Chicago startup’s high-tech coolers were installed in hundreds of US Walgreens locations, but caused significant disruptions and led to a costly contract dispute. The smart doors, which obscured shoppers’ view of the fridges’ contents, frequently crashed or showed the wrong products, catching fire in some cases. After trying to pull out of the deal, Walgreens sued Cooler Screens for breach of contract, seeking $200 million. However, the startup’s CEO decided to take a new approach during the legal battle, resulting in the current state of the smart fridge doors at Walgreens locations nationwide.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-01-16/walgreens-fridge-fight-bodes-poorly-for-future-of-retail