Latest news with #EBTSNAP
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wegmans tests smart carts
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Wegmans is testing smart carts from two providers at four stores in Upstate New York, the grocer told Grocery Dive in an email. The test at Wegmans Dewitt store in Syracuse is of Instacart's smart carts, marking the grocer's first deployment of Caper Carts, the grocery technology company said in a Tuesday announcement. Wegmans also confirmed that it is upgrading its self-checkout technology as part of a 'company-wide refresh cycle aimed at maintaining the most convenient checkout experience.' Wegmans began piloting smart carts years ago and is continuing to test this type of shopping and checkout solution as it evolves its in-store experience. Instacart said in the Tuesday announcement that its Caper Carts let customers track their spending in real time, log into their grocer's loyalty program account, bag as they shop and pay directly from the cart. The Wegmans Dewitt store in Syracuse is the only location offering Caper Carts, Instacart confirmed in an email. The carts use a combination of cameras, sensors and a digital scale to recognize items and are part of Instacart Connected Stores, a suite of technologies linking online and in-store experiences. Instacart noted that it first partnered with Wegmans in 2017 on same-day delivery and has since expanded the collaboration to include solutions like pickup, EBT SNAP acceptance and loyalty integration. Instacart said it does not have additional updates to share about whether it will add Caper Carts to more Wegmans stores. The grocer has over 100 stores across eight states and Washington, D.C. Wegmans is also testing smart carts at two stores in the Rochester, New York, area and one store in the greater Buffalo, New York, area, the grocer said in the email. 'We are limiting the program to these stores as we gather customer feedback to drive improvements,' Wegmans said in an emailed statement. 'Our goal is to determine if Smart Cart Technology is a fit for the unique shopping assortment offered in our stores and if it meets the shopping needs of our customers.' Self-checkout is another area where the grocer is looking to streamline its checkout experience. 'Many of our stores already have the new self-checkouts and others will be gradually upgraded,' the grocer said in the email. The new machines do not accept cash, have an upgraded processing power and feature a new light pole to signal availability to consumers, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, a newspaper serving the Rochester market. Wegmans has adjusted and tested checkout technology over the last several years. Last fall, the grocer piloted smart carts at three stores, including Perinton and Pittsford in New York, where the grocer confirmed it is currently testing smart carts, the Democrat & Chronicle reported. In 2023, Wegmans started testing smart cart technology from Shopic at two stores. The year prior, the grocer ended its popular scan-and-go option due to unspecified 'losses.' Meanwhile, Instacart has continually added features to its smart carts as it looks to make the shopping and checkout solution available at more of its retail partners. Recently, Instacart has launched shoppable displays and started testing online delivery offers for customers checking out on the smart carts. The company said in October that it had equipped the carts with technology from NVIDIA's Jetson platform to better recognize items in real-time with lower latency. Instacart told shareholders in February that it plans to test store-shelf scanning from the carts in the 'future.' Last year, Instacart added gamified quests, location-based coupons and aisle-aware advertising formats to the smart carts. Instacart continues to grow the roster of retailers using Caper Carts, with recent sign-ons including Heritage Grocers Group, Weis Markets, Geisslers, Kroger, Schnuck Markets and Wakefern Food. Recommended Reading Wegmans rolls out smart cart pilot Sign in to access your portfolio
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Wegmans tests smart carts
Dive Brief: Wegmans is testing smart carts from two providers at four stores in Upstate New York, the grocer told Grocery Dive in an email. The test at Wegmans Dewitt store in Syracuse is of Instacart's smart carts, marking the grocer's first deployment of Caper Carts, the grocery technology company said in a Tuesday also confirmed that it is upgrading its self-checkout technology as part of a "company-wide refresh cycle aimed at maintaining the most convenient checkout experience." Dive Insight: Wegmans began piloting smart carts years ago and is continuing to test this type of shopping and checkout solution as it evolves its in-store experience. Instacart said in the Tuesday announcement that its Caper Carts let customers track their spending in real time, log into their grocer's loyalty program account, bag as they shop and pay directly from the cart. The Wegmans Dewitt store in Syracuse is the only location offering Caper Carts, Instacart confirmed in an email. The carts use a combination of cameras, sensors and a digital scale to recognize items and are part of Instacart Connected Stores, a suite of technologies linking online and in-store experiences. Instacart noted that it first partnered with Wegmans in 2017 on same-day delivery and has since expanded the collaboration to include solutions like pickup, EBT SNAP acceptance and loyalty integration. Instacart said it does not have additional updates to share about whether it will add Caper Carts to more Wegmans stores. The grocer has over 100 stores across eight states and Washington, D.C. Wegmans is also testing smart carts at two stores in the Rochester, New York, area and one store in the greater Buffalo, New York, area, the grocer said in the email. "We are limiting the program to these stores as we gather customer feedback to drive improvements," Wegmans said in an emailed statement. "Our goal is to determine if Smart Cart Technology is a fit for the unique shopping assortment offered in our stores and if it meets the shopping needs of our customers." Self-checkout is another area where the grocer is looking to streamline its checkout experience. "Many of our stores already have the new self-checkouts and others will be gradually upgraded," the grocer said in the email. The new machines do not accept cash, have an upgraded processing power and feature a new light pole to signal availability to consumers, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, a newspaper serving the Rochester market. Wegmans has adjusted and tested checkout technology over the last several years. Last fall, the grocer piloted smart carts at three stores, including Perinton and Pittsford in New York, where the grocer confirmed it is currently testing smart carts, the Democrat & Chronicle reported. In 2023, Wegmans started testing smart cart technology from Shopic at two stores. The year prior, the grocer ended its popular scan-and-go option due to unspecified "losses." Meanwhile, Instacart has continually added features to its smart carts as it looks to make the shopping and checkout solution available at more of its retail partners. Recently, Instacart has launched shoppable displays and started testing online delivery offers for customers checking out on the smart carts. The company said in October that it had equipped the carts with technology from NVIDIA's Jetson platform to better recognize items in real-time with lower latency. Instacart told shareholders in February that it plans to test store-shelf scanning from the carts in the "future." Last year, Instacart added gamified quests, location-based coupons and aisle-aware advertising formats to the smart carts. Instacart continues to grow the roster of retailers using Caper Carts, with recent sign-ons including Heritage Grocers Group, Weis Markets, Geisslers, Kroger, Schnuck Markets and Wakefern Food. Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Multiple EBT fraud cases reported in Scranton
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Police are warning residents that multiple EBT fraud reports have been received across the city of Scranton. The Scranton Police Department stated they have received multiple reports of potential EBT fraud. Another wave of EBT SNAP fraud hits PA families Officers say if you feel that you are/were a victim, please file your report online with the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General. Police also suggest that you make a habit of changing your personal identification number (PIN) with all cards regularly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lingering citrus smell issue addressed in West Wyoming meeting
WEST WYOMING, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The source of an odd citrus smell was the focus of Monday night's West Wyoming Council Meeting. People who live in the Luzerne County neighborhood say it's been going on for about a year and they want to know where it's coming from. On Monday, they got some answers. The owner of KB Crash Creations on West 6th Street, a business that specializes in making kratom extracts, says they're the source of the smell. At the meeting, he says they're working with local DEP Officials on containing the issue. Another wave of EBT SNAP fraud hits PA families 'Off and on throughout the past couple years, you'd get a complaint here or there. but more recently within the last month, the complaints have gotten more frequent as which I started to do the investigation and contact DEP and get the ball rolling,' said West Wyoming Borough Building Code Official And Fire Chief Lee Hampton. 'So sounds from their end they're trying to take it serious as they can, which is is great and helpful and you know, we're just trying to just live in our community,' West Wyoming resident Steven Milewski said. Local residents say they're worried there could be health issues associated with the smell. The owner of KB Crash creations said OSHA and DEP both approved the process they're using. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Another wave of EBT SNAP fraud hits PA families
(WBRE/WYOU) — Yet another wave of EBT SNAP benefits fraud has made its way across NEPA just after the benefits were restored at the start of the month. After last month's string of EBT fraud, security measures were put in place to help protect the accounts of those receiving SNAP benefits. Now, 28/22 News is learning that those security measures may not have been enough. After countless residents had their SNAP benefits drained in January, the Department of Human Services (DHS) urged anyone using the cards to both replace them and change their pins. But when February's benefits began to hit EBT accounts, the problem persisted. 'I get $517 in food stamps and I also get $150 in cash every two weeks. I woke up on the third to all of it gone,' said Scranton resident Ammie Feduchak. The single mother of three says she was not affected in January, but just to be safe, changed the pin on her account. She also says she only uses her EBT card to shop for groceries online. SNAP benefits drained by card skimmers But despite being safe, her account was still compromised. 'We have no answers, we have no plan, there's no proactiveness. It's not like, you know, a debit card where we can lock it, you know what I mean? There's no option like that for food stamps,' Feduchak explained. DHS, which oversees SNAP benefits for Pennsylvania, says they are working on a lock/unlock feature on their Connect EBT app to prevent unwanted transactions. They also plan to text snap recipients to warn them of skimming devices, stating in part: 'With this planned text alert directly to a recipient's cell phone, we are doing everything we can to inform Pennsylvanians and arm them against these bad actors.' DHS Secretary Doctor Val Arkoosh These plans may help going forward, but for now, many are left without money for food- unable to be reimbursed. One local non-profit is working with lawmakers and those affected by the fraud though, to hopefully provide some answers. 'As soon as I saw that this was huge here, I reached out to State Representative Kyle Donahue's office, and as soon as I told him what it was about I had a meeting with him the next day,' said Elizabeth Rodriguez, Co-Founder and President of Giving Back to the Community. EBT card skimming: What we've learned Rodriguez says Donahue was able to provide victims with gift cards to supermarkets and pizzerias and is in the process of working with the state to find a solution to a problem that has gone on for far too long. Rodriguez also tells 28/22 News that a community meeting with Representative Donahue is in the works, and will be passing that information along to us when it becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
