8 hours ago
Wegmans to test drive smart shopping carts at Central New York store
DEWITT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Wegmans plans to roll out smart shopping cart technology at one of its Central New York stores later this month, the company confirms to NewsChannel 9.
Keen-eyed shoppers have already noticed the fleet of new carts lined up at the front entrance area of the store on Genesee Street in DeWitt.
The tricked-out carts have a touch screen facing the handle bar and instruct the shopper to point a product's barcode at sensors in the corners of the cart's basket. The directions show green lights and a beep, then signaling when the item can be put inside the customer's bag within the cart.
The company describes smart shopping carts as 'an early-stage technology that we believe could be offered to our customers as an alternative way to shop in our stores in the future.'
A Wegmans spokesperson said DeWitt is one of four stores in New York State chosen as part of the company's 'Smart Cart Test & Learn Pilots.' The other locations are Perinton and Pittsford in Rochester and Alberta Drive in Buffalo.
Employee testing has already happened in DeWitt. Select customers have already had the chance to try the technology before it opens to the public on Friday, June 27.
The company is only practicing within four stores as it gathers customer feedback, fine-tunes improvements, and resolves errors.
'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,' said Evelyn Ingraham of Wegmans.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wegmans launched its 'SCAN' app, which allowed shoppers to scan each item with their phone to keep a running tally.
The company blamed theft for shutting down the app in 2022.
At the time, emails to customers said, 'Unfortunately, the losses we are experiencing from this program prevent us from continuing to make it available in its current state. We've learned a lot, and we will continue to introduce new digital solutions to streamline your shopping experience for the future.'
Not too different than self-checkout stations, some smart cart technology includes scales that would flag the weight of groceries not scanned.
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