Woolworths shopper praises ‘genius’ new gadget found in store
A shopper has praised the “genius” scale at his local Woolworths which predicts the type of fruit and vegetables you put on it.
The TikTok user, @scotty_mcdonald, posted the video from Woolworths Annerley in Brisbane, where the AI-enabled scale has been installed to predict which fruit or vegetable you place on it.
“Organise yourself a day trip to Annerley for this one!” reads the caption.
In the 15-second video, the shopper demonstrates how the smart technology works using a sweet potato and then several bananas.
The shopper places a sweet potato on the scale, selects the loose item on the screen, and scans the barcode using the Woolworths app.
“The pay as you go scale at Woolies Annerley can work out what fruit or veg you put on it,” says a voiceover on the TikTok video.
In the video, the Woolworths scale not only weighs the items, but also accurately predicts that it is a sweet potato and bananas.
“Welcome robot shopping overlord,” says the voiceover.
“It’s a genius,” the TikTok user concludes at the end of the video.
Woolworths says smart scales are 'AI-enabled'
The AI-based scale is designed for use with Scan&Go, which is built into the Woolworths app and allows customers to scan items with their smartphone as they roam the store and pay for them in the app, before checking out through a dedicated Scan&Go lane or kiosk upon exit.
Ben Garvan, Woolworths Head of Digital In-Store, said that the speed and convenience of Scan&Go has been popular with many shoppers across Australia.
“Scan&Go makes use of smart AI-enabled scales to help customers quickly and accurately add loose fruit and vegetable items to their in-app shopping cart," said Mr Garvan.
Scan&Go is offered alongside self-serve and manned checkouts in Woolworths stores – offering customers another option to pay in the way that works best for them.
Shoppers must be Everyday Rewards members to use Scan&Go and need to upload an accepted credit or debit card within the app to use the Scan&Go scales.
“We're pleased to have had positive feedback from customers in the 36 stores we’ve launched Scan&Go in to date. We continue to look for opportunities to roll Scan&Go out to further stores,” he added.
Scan&Go is not being rolled out network-wide at the moment.
Customers suspicious over 'robot' Scan&Go scales
The video has since gone viral, gaining more than 59,000 views, 2,600 likes and hundreds of comments from excited shoppers who claimed the new technology was “cool” and “genius”.
Although many customers were impressed by the new technology, saying “the future is now”, other customers were not so convinced.
“This scale is a snitch,” wrote one customer.
Other customers lamented that they could no longer “scam” the supermarket giant at the checkout.
“I guess I won’t be getting red capsicum for green capsicum price anymore,” wrote one shopper.
While another wrote: “Well, I’m going to have to start buying just brown onions then.”
“Time to wrap my avocados in onion skin,” said a third.
Conspiracy theories also began to circulate in the comments, with many shoppers suggesting staff were watching customers using a camera.
“There’s secretly someone on a camera just watching,” wrote a suspicious customer.
While another user joked that Woolworths were “putting microchips in the food,” which is why they were able to easily predict each item.
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'Good idea': Covid-safe Woolworths trolley device goes viral
A TikTok video showing a Covid-safe technology being implemented in Woolworths stores, has gone viral on TikTok.
The 14 second video, posted by TikTok user @shereenchadoud, is captioned: “Thank you Woolworths for looking after us.”
In the video, which has already gotten more than 130,000 likes, the woman pushes her trolley inside the sanitising unit, presses a button and her trolley is sprayed with disinfectant for several seconds.
“You can now disinfect your trolley at Woolworths Bankstown,” a voiceover says.
The Bankstown store joins stores in Oran Park, Glenrose, Wetherill Park, Bonnyrigg and Carnes Hill who are also trialling the units.
TikTok users from around the globe were active in the comments, with many praising this technology.
“I wanna go there and try it,” said one person.
“What a good idea Woolworths,” commented another.
“They should have this everywhere,” wrote a third.
Meanwhile, a Woolworths spokesperson confirmed that the units have been popular with customers.
“As part of our Covid Safe program, we’re trialling new trolley disinfectant units in six of our stores across Greater Sydney,” the spokesperson said.
“We're always looking for ways to make the in-store customer experience more convenient, and will closely monitor customer feedback on the trial over the coming weeks,” they added.
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