In the eyes of many retailers, intelligent shopping carts are one of the better solutions to a smoother customer shopping journey in the physical store. But the technology is complex and for now these carts have been introduced as trials only.
In France, for example, Monoprix and Franprix are testing smart carts from Israeli provider A2Z Smart Technologies. The plan is to roll out the test to 20 supermarkets of each banner. Last year, competitor Carrefour has been testing the same smart carts. The carts work with computer vision. Customers can simply place their items in the shopping trolley, where the prices automatically appear on a display, confirming that the products have been registered. The built-in scales allow for accurate pricing of goods sold by weight and also serve as a control measure. When done shopping, customers can pay directly at the trolley using the integrated card terminal.
Aldi subsidiary Hofer is trialling carts from US provider Instacart in Austria. Customers can scan items directly on the cart and weigh loose fruit and vegetables in the cart. Payment is made by card at a quick checkout or in cash at a at a service checkout without removing the items.