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If Cincinnati-area shoppers sneak an extra bag of chocolate chips into their cart, Kroger will now know. The grocer is piloting a self-scanning shopping cart with Caper, a tech firm.
How it works: The “KroGO” smart carts are equipped with screens that scan purchases, suggest additional products, and apply discounts. When shoppers are ready to check out, they swipe their card on the cart.
Tech throwback: Amazon debuted its take on the automated shopping cart last July. Its card-free version, the Dash Cart, has already been deployed across several Amazon Fresh locations.
Race to checkout
Automated carts aren’t just fodder for more “retail incumbents vs. Amazon” stories. They could improve the shopping experience for both consumers and retailers.
- For shoppers: Covid-19 shopping prioritizes quick, low contact visits, which automated carts can provide.
- For retailers: Last year, Caper CEO Lindon Gao told Emerging Tech Brew that the firm’s auto-recommendation system increased average checkout conversions by 18%. Since the carts weigh each item, they can also reduce theft.
Let’s not put the carts before the contingencies. There are still significant adoption hurdles, from delivering the tech at scale to convincing shoppers the carts are capital-I innovation.