The trial, taking place in Waitrose’s Bracknell store, is said to be a UK supermarket first and is currently at a “very small scale”.
Described as being like the ‘scan as you shop’ methods used in many supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, the AI trolleys are a bigger variation.
Explaining the trial, a Waitrose spokesperson told The Grocer: “It works in a similar way to our Scan, Pay, Go handsets, with a bigger screen – that identifies every item placed into or removed from the cart, and with a real-time tally of products and prices so shoppers can keep track of purchases”.
Waitrose trials new AI trolleys in UK first
The AI trial allows customers to clip on a handlebar-like device to trolleys so they can scan items with their hands freely.
Shoppers will be able to scan barcodes on items as they would with the handset, but with the trolleys, all you must do is put the item in the trolley, and the AI camera will verify and scan the product.
Although customers will still need to weigh and scan loose produce, Waitrose bakery items can be selected on the screen before being added to the trolley.
Recommended Reading
The AI trial also does not work for reduced items, with all yellowed sticker products needing to be scanned.
Sharing more details of the AI trolleys, the Waitrose spokesperson added that the supermarket chain is “exploring options for more frictionless payment for our customers, while still maintaining conventional checkouts for customers who value interaction with our partners”.
The AI device is supplied by Israeli company Shopic, who share the device lets retailers “understand everything that happens on your retail floor”.
