Smart Cart Technology Offers Retailers Real-Time Insights

A new smart retail cart from A2Z Smart Technologies promises to engage customers from the moment they enter the store, using a combination of computer vision, artificial intelligence and secure edge computing.

A2Z’s Cust2Mate Smart Cart Platform was demonstrated at NRF 2022. The technology is launching this year at grocery stores in New York and New Jersey. 

Company CEO Rafael Yam said by utilizing decades of experience in retail point-of-sale across supermarkets and other retail chains, the smart cart would help retailers generate valuable new intelligence to create an “unparalleled, personalized experience.”

“From the moment the shopper’s smart cart passes the designated entry gate, the system engages the customer to offer promotions and discounts as well as add to their purchase with suggestions to augment their menu if, for example, they appear to be purchasing salad ingredients or mayonnaise to go with their canned tuna,” said Yam.

The cart contains a barcode scanner that prices items as they are picked off shelves by the customer and a touchscreen for displaying discounts and product suggestions.

The technology seamlessly integrates artificial intelligence with secure edge computing nodes and anti-fraud systems on each cart to produce real-time business intelligence and minimize retail risks like shoplifting.

Real-time insights can then be used by the retailer to adjust the targeted promotions and suggestions on the display to increase customer spending. The cart is designed to be fun for the customer to use while ultimately giving retailers an attractive return on their investment.

Secure Edge Computing

The customer’s habits and store patterns would be tracked by the retail cart’s back-end system and could also be used beyond the store they’re shopping in to inform decisions across the retailer’s entire chain without breaching privacy laws.

That’s possible because Cust2Mate’s product relies on edge computing systems and algorithms from Edgify to update stock-keeping units, prices and transaction records locally, without sending information to the cloud. The computer vision recognizes non-barcoded items like fruits and vegetables enabling their SKUs to be updated and prices changed.

Each cart features tap and pay and QR scanning protocols that allow customers to pay using a bank card or e-wallet, as well as using buy now pay later credit accounts, loyalty points or even cryptocurrencies.

“We’re delivering on our promise of an unparalleled, personalized shopping experience while providing retailers with valuable new intelligence, and system support to increase sales,” Yam said.