Amazon Continues to Innovate in the Grocery Industry
The pandemic has changed the retail market. The future of food shopping might be Amazon’s Dash Cart.
Since the first opening of the Amazon Go convenience store in 2018, the company has been revolutionizing the grocery industry with the cashierless and no checkout lines concept. At the start of the year, they opened a full-on Go Grocery store, which is five times bigger than typical Amazon Go establishments. And now — mid-2020 — they are bringing a different kind of shopping experience: smart carts.
But the concept is not new
The idea of creating a smart shopping cart has been around since 2011 when SK Telecom launched its first prototype. The cart was equipped with a tablet and was WiFi-enabled, allowing the synchronization between the tablet and a smartphone app.
In 2011, engadget editor Joseph Volpe commented about the cart:
“within the stores, depending on their location, customers can get useful information (…) and receive coupons using augmented reality technology. At the checkout counter, the tablet screen shows the list of purchased items, membership points, and available coupons.”
According to Volpe, the cart was marketed as a service and aide when doing groceries.
Need milk? No problem—your smart cart will remind you.
From there, other companies have been creating products that originate from the same “smart concept” but focusing on different points.
Explained Geek Wire co-founder Todd Bishop:
“The global market for smart shopping carts is projected to grow to more than $3 billion by 2025, from $737 million last year, according to a report by ResearchandMarkets.com.”
Amazon introduces the Dash Cart
In June 2020, Amazon introduced their latest grocery innovation, the Dash Cart. As reported by Tech Crunch, it’s a “grocery store shopping cart that identifies then charges you for the items you place inside its basket.”
This new, futuristic-looking shopping vehicle brings practicality and automation to the physical store. All of the cameras and sensors that Amazon Go stores used to locate on shelves and ceilings are now featured in the cart itself, for making the grab-and-go shopping concept work.
“The idea builds on Amazon’s approach of trying to take the convenience it’s mastered in the digital realm and bring it into the real world. (…) Those efforts are now resulting in hybrid products that bridge the digital and physical, if only in small and experimental bursts.” — Nick Statt in theverge
Incorporating old habits into an innovative way of purchasing groceries could potentially attract customers that weren’t attracted to the Go experience initially. Additionally, this could minimize the already detected mistakes when picking up and returning products at the Amazon Go store.
In the future, it wouldn’t be surprising if Amazon introduces this same innovative approach to other commerce sectors, expanding the possibility of creating easier user experiences for new clients.
How does it work?
According to Tech Crunch, this smart version of shopping carts will debut later this year in the Woodland Hills full-scale grocery store (California).
To initiate the cart there’ll be a QR code in the Amazon app that the client will have to scan to enable the Amazon account sign-in and the vehicle access. Then, the customer will place the bags in the cart and begin the grocery trip.
According to Amazon:
“the cart uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify the items you put in the cart.”
When the item is placed in the bag the cart will automatically add it to the order and if the product is taken out it will be removed without getting charged. The cart will flash a white light letting the shopper know the item has been added and an orange light when it wasn’t.
Additionally, it has a scale that can weight fresh produce by introducing a code in the touchscreen and confirming the quantity before putting the item into the cart. With the use of the screen, the customer will be able to access their Alexa Shopping list to check items and view the subtotal. Also, according to Amazon, every cart is equipped with a coupon scanner that can be used as clients shop around the store.
At the end of the trip — when exiting the store — the cart processes the order and charges the customer through their credit card on their Amazon account. The receipt will automatically be emailed to their address making for a seamless shopping visit.
Practicality
The technology lets shoppers walk away without the tedious process of going through and waiting in the checkout line. And as the Dash Cart works on its own, there’s no need for the complex mounted sensors and cameras as they are featured at the Amazon Go grocery stores.
According to Dilip Kumar, Amazon’s vice president of physical retail and technology,
“the experience will be designed to be seamless, very convenient, very easy for customers to understand.”
While Amazon has been developing the cashierless concept since 2018, the launch of the Dash Cart in Covid-19 times might be the opportunity for giving shoppers some new options when doing contactless groceries.
There’s a good chance that this invention will bring unseen traffic to the “grab and go” re-invented approach.
Says Carolyn Harding:
“The current pandemic has created an evolved retail environment, as the need for social distancing has shifted consumer behaviors toward self-service options in order to access everyday necessities.”
However, if we were situated in a different context, maybe this gadget wouldn’t have had as much potential as it has today. It will be interesting to see how this project evolves with the overall situation, as it may become the future of doing groceries.
