Answer a question that seems simple What is a smart shopping cart

Smart shopping carts are now available in more and more supermarkets. They are the latest in the line of many different technology approaches to let shoppers buy merchandise without checking out. But most people still don’t know what a smart shopping cart is.

As an author who has written lots of articles, In this article, I will introduce smart shopping carts in detail.

Features&Functions

A smart shopping cart is equipped with a tablet, a bar code scanner, weight sensors, and other components. The bar code scanner supports customers scan items’ bar codes, then the smart shopping cart will display items’ prices automatically. The weight sensor along with other multiple algorithms is used to do loss prevention work in the shopping process.

The tablet is touch-able, which is a platform that supports customers' interaction with the smart shopping cart system in the shopping process. The smart shopping cart is also equipped with several cameras that could help recognize items as a recognition supplement.

A smart shopping cart also supports customers checking out directly on the smart cart, the reason behind which is that the smart shopping cart has been connected with the bank system and online payment system.

After customers have paid successfully, the smart shopping cart lets shoppers leave the supermarket as they normally would.

A smart shopping cart could send coupons and promotional information to customers while customers are wandering in the supermarket. This will make customers avoid missing any coupons useful to them.

Benefits&Advantages

Smart shopping carts could surely bring benefits to supermarkets and grocery stores.

Certainly, the grab-and-go shopping concept is not new. However, a smart shopping cart attracts much attention as it is a total frictionless shopping experience. The need for this smart shopping cart is accelerated thanks to COVID-19.

The smart shopping cart lets customers skip the cash counter as they always want to avoid waiting in crowded checkout lines for long periods. Retailers and grocery stores want to protect their cashiers by limiting contact with customers at traditional checkout lines.

Another point that is worthy to mention is that a smart shopping cart eliminates the cashiers’ amount. Supermarkets or groceries stores could reduce cost, as labor cost is growing year by year, especially in some developed countries.

Advantages of smart shopping cart technology are also obvious, smart shopping cart solutions do not need wide-scale changes to stores. Rather than deploying extensive technology everywhere in a store, smart shopping carts can be deployed on a cart-by-cart basis. Surely, some of the same back-end technology would be needed as with the store-wide solutions. But here, the deployment of cashier-less shopping can be deployed in a limited manner, and a store gets the benefits right away.

Of course, smart shopping carts bring more benefits to customers. With a smart shopping cart, customers could enjoy an improved shopping experience.