In the race to step up, grocery aisles across America have decided to add smart” shopping carts which will enable to track what consumers pick up off the shelves and also allow them to pay without having to stand and wait in queues, hence making the whole system convenient and fast-moving.
Kroger, an American retail company founded by Bernard Kroger recently adapted itself to the everything going digital trend and rolled out new “KroGo” shopping carts. It is a smart cart with a built-in scale and camera, providing an easier shopping experience with less contact and faster checkout. The system is still just being tested at its Madeira, Ohio grocery store outside of Cincinnati.
Designed by a company called Caper Inc., the new carts come with a built-in video screen that is essentially a smaller version of the scanners that Kroger has at its checkout lines. The customers/users can scan and bag right from the cart as they shop, then pay from the cart and exit quickly through the self-checkout area.
Amazon has a similar kind of service that it offers called a Dash Cart, a smart shopping cart with sensors that appear to be even more elaborate than what Kroger’s carts offer. However, unlike Kroger’s system, Dash Carts have the ability to scan coupons. They can also access shopping lists that customers have prepared ahead of time using Amazon Alexa. When customers finish shopping, they walk through special checkout lanes that finalize their tab without human interaction, bill their accounts and email receipts.
How to shop with KroGo powered by Caper:-
Any personal items should be placed in the front basket. Then, the customers have to place their reusable bags in the main cart and weigh them before they start shopping. They must be sure to scan their Shopper’s Card so as to earn fuel points on their purchases and redeem any digital coupons they’ve downloaded if any. The customers can scan each item as they shop, weigh produce directly on the cart and even put items back on the shelf (in case they don’t need it anymore) and remove them from the tab. The cart gives shoppers a running subtotal of purchases as items are added, helping people stay on budget. Once the shopping is done, they can use your credit or debit card to pay on the cart, and then simply can exit quickly through the self-checkout area.
The company is promoting the new technology in the Ohio store with signage that plays well in the COVID-19 era, reading “Faster Checkout. Limited Contact.”, however, it is not sure whether they will roll out the smart carts at more of its 2700 stores.