Woolworths shopper calls for supermarket to trial smart trolleys
A Woolworths customer has called for the supermarket to trial smart trolleys in stores that also serve as cash registers.
The shopper posted a TikTok video to the Woolworths Facebook page of a trolley in a supermarket in the US scanning items as they are dropped in the cart.
"When is Woolworths going to copy Amazon and replace self-serve checkouts with these new trolleys?" the customer said.
Woolworths have said while they don't plan on trialling smart trolleys, the supermarket will continue to roll out Scan&Go, which is a similar technology.
Earlier this year Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the US, introduced smart trolleys in its stores.
People can place their items straight into reusable bags in their trolleys after scanning and paying for the items all through the cart.
Kroger says on its website shoppers can also keep track of their spending whilst they shop.
While Woolworths does not have any smart trolley trials underway at this time, it has launched a Scan&Go app, which is similar technology.
The scheme involves shoppers downloading the app from the App store or Google Play and registering payment details in the app.
Customers can then go around the store scanning items on their phone as they put them into their bags before tapping off at a designated kiosk, shaving minutes off shopping times.
Woolworths Group Head of Payments and Financial Services Paul Monnington said last year the scheme was aimed at customers who lead busy lives and that the Woolworths experience was now “more convenient than ever before”.
According to Woolworths, Scan&Go is available to Everyday Rewards members at 28 stores across Australia.
"We first trialled Scan&Go in a Sydney store in 2018 and we’ve gone on to extend the benefits to more stores following positive feedback from our customers and teams," a spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
"More than 25 of our stores across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia offer this innovative shopping technology.
"As we open new stores and renew existing stores, Scan&Go will be considered as part of the customer offer, however it's not something we’ll be rolling out across our entire fleet at this stage."
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