Large French retailer Carrefour introduced the first smart shopping cart system in Romania on Thursday, July 10.
Available exclusively in the hypermarket in Corbeanca, a town in the north of Bucharest, the Smart Cart functions like an integrated shopping assistant, which optimizes the route in the store, displays the products available, and shows the value of the shopping basket in real time, the company said.
Each scanned item is instantly displayed on the cart screen, along with the price, for increased visibility.
Additionally, if customers need assistance, they can request help through a dedicated button. Thanks to the geolocation function, staff can intervene quickly, identifying the exact position of the user.
To use the Smart Cart, customers must log in to the Act for Good loyalty platform, available in the Carrefour mobile app. The shopping list is created directly on the cart’s touchscreen, and the system automatically generates an optimal route through the store, indicating the location of each product.
“We launched this pilot project in the Corbeanca hypermarket with 40 devices, and from the debut until now, over 3,500 customers have already used Smart Cart, demonstrating the growing interest in this system that makes shopping faster and more efficient. We believe this is the beginning of an important transformation, in which technology and the in-store experience work together,” said Fabrice Gratien Besson, Director of Security, Quality and Checkouts at Carrefour Romania.
At the end of the shopping trip, the cart generates a barcode that is quickly scanned at the checkout. All added products are automatically uploaded into the system, and payment can be made quickly.
The design of the cart was conceived ergonomically, so that products can be placed directly into reusable bags or boxes. It has a carrying capacity of up to 180 kg, an autonomy of 18 hours, and a charging time of 6 hours.
Smart Cart is also compatible with the Bringo and Glovo delivery platforms, offering extended integration with Carrefour’s omnichannel ecosystem, both for customers who prefer in-store shopping and those who opt for fast delivery solutions.
(Photo source: press release)
Leave a Reply