Smart carts in retail

Since the debut of the Amazon Go store, several retailers have renewed their focus on improving the in-store checkout experience. For most, scan and go technology has been central to their initiatives.

However, some retailers have started to test smart carts (trolleys). For years, supermarket carts have been basic. Advances in technology and reduction in price has enabled retailers to offer shopping carts that have display screens allowing shoppers to check-out easily. They also help shoppers as they shop a store, through in-store navigation to product information.

Examples of smart carts (trolleys) in retail

Suguo, a retail chain owned by CR Vanguard in China, has rolled out smart trolleys in its stores. The smart trolley has a touch screen tablet built in to provide several services.

First of all, it is a mobile self serve cash register. Customers can scan product barcodes as they shop and pay using mobile payment before leaving the store.

Secondly, the trolley is a navigation device, enabled using ibeacon and GIS technology, helping shoppers to locate products in-store.

Thirdly, the online store is accessible via the touch screen, offering shoppers more choice.

The screen can also display promotions and product information. 

Smartcart offers intelligent shopping cart solutions for the retail and grocery trade. Smartcart is a Finnish technology company focusing on point-of-sale marketing, advertising and in-store services via smart shopping carts.

First launched in-store in 2017, Smartcart is currently in 106 Kesko stores in Finland. All product information from K-Supermarket and K-Citymarket stores is integrated into the Smartcart system. 

New York City-based Caper has developed a customised shopping trolley (cart) that scans products as shoppers put them in the trolley, so shoppers don’t have to waste time at a checkout.

Canada’s second-largest food retailer, Sobeys, is partnering with Caper to test its intelligent shopping cart at a store in Oakville, Ontario.

The ‘Smart Cart’ has been developed to enable shoppers to bypass the traditional checkout lane, one of the key friction points within shopping trips.

The cart’s technology scans and weighs products as customers place them inside. It keeps a running total of purchases and enables customers to pay directly via the cart. 

Some of the benefits of smart carts 

Supplier benefit

1. Smart carts offer suppliers in-store marketing opportunities through the digital screen.
2. Smart carts can enable suppliers to alert shoppers to new products and promotions through the digital screens in relevant parts of the physical store to drive sales of their products. 
3. Smart carts are often connected to the internet, which means suppliers have more opportunity to sell products to shoppers through the cart screen, as shoppers can purchase products that are not actually in-store.

Retailer benefit

1. Smart carts can help retailers repurpose cashier labour to assist shoppers on the shop floor so they buy more, and keep shelves stocked.
2. Smart carts can help retailers with inventory management and analytics, along with effective ways to deliver tailored promotions to customers as they shop.
3. Smart carts potentially reduce the number of checkouts required in-store. This can create more selling space where the checkouts previously sat, meaning that more products could be sold as a result. 

Shopper benefit

1. Smart carts should make the in-store shopping experience smoother and more convenient as shoppers can avoid queues at checkout.
2. Smart carts can help shoppers navigate a store in a more time efficient way. 
3. Smart carts can apply machine learning technology to identify the patterns in a customer’s behaviour and make suggestions for recipes and recommend relevant products based on their product choices. 

IGD's ShopperVista research reveals that 77% of British shoppers say they would like technology to help them in some way with their grocery shopping, and 27% want retailers to help them save time with quicker check-out process. Smart carts could be one way to deliver these shoppers’ wishes.  

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