Home » Business News » Amazon’s “smart” grocery carts are coming to some Whole Foods stores

Amazon’s “smart” grocery carts are coming to some Whole Foods stores

By Nagasunder in Business News, posted July 17, 2022

A Massachusetts Whole Foods store is getting one of Amazon's smart shopping carts.

In the upcoming months, Amazon will introduce Dash Carts at Whole Foods in Westford, Massachusetts, which is northwest of Boston, before introducing the technology at more stores.

The carts keep track of and tally up products as they are placed in the cart, allowing users to bypass the checkout queue. In September 2020, Amazon introduced the Dash Cart at its Fresh food shops.

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The carts are an expansion of Amazon's cashierless "Just Walk Out" system, which was initially used in Amazon Go convenience shops.

To recognize things as they are loaded into bags within the cart, they employ sensors and computer vision together.

A display on the shopping cart updates the total price as customers add and delete goods. Amazon charges the customer's credit card as they leave the store using a designated lane.

Along with bringing the technology to Whole Foods, Amazon is also introducing a new and larger Dash Cart, which will make its debut at the Massachusetts Whole Foods site before being made available in more locations and in certain Fresh grocery shops.

The improved cart, according to the manufacturer, will include a lower shelf for big items and will accommodate up to four shopping bags rather than just two.

Dilip Kumar, Amazon’s vice president of physical retail and technology, in Monday’s blog post said previously, shoppers were required to leave their carts in stores when they exited.

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The "weather resistant" carts enable consumers to put products in their vehicles as well.

To test the technology and make sure it could withstand harsh weather, Amazon baked it and put it in a "huge freezer."

Amazon continues to expand its cashierless technology beyond Go stores. Last year, it introduced the Just Walk out a system to its Whole Foods and Fresh stores, and it began selling the technology to third parties in 2020.

Source: CNBC

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