Amazon is making its smart grocery carts available to other retailers, signaling a strategic move to transform its Dash Cart technology into a service.
The company announced that select Price Chopper and McKeever’s Market stores in Kansas and Missouri are currently testing these innovative shopping carts.
Initially introduced in 2020 at Amazon Fresh supermarkets and later deployed in certain Whole Foods locations, Dash Carts revolutionize the shopping experience by seamlessly tracking and totaling up items as customers walk in the aisles.
Combining computer vision and sensors, these carts identify products as they are placed into bags, providing real-time updates on the total price displayed on the cart’s screen.
Dash Carts Offered to Price Chopper and McKeever’s Market for Testing
While Amazon has expanded the usage of Just Walk Out to more third-party retailers, it has recently scaled back the technology in its own grocery stores.
Earlier this month, Amazon announced the removal of Just Walk Out from certain Fresh stores and two Whole Foods locations, while continuing to utilize it in Amazon Go stores and smaller Fresh outlets in the U.K.
Despite recent scrutiny surrounding cashier-less checkout systems, Amazon remains confident in the future of Just Walk Out technology, particularly for stores with a curated selection where customers can quickly grab items and exit.
The system, which relies on advanced cameras and sensors, automatically charges shoppers for the items they take, streamlining the checkout process.
Addressing concerns raised by recent reports, Amazon clarified that human moderators are involved in labeling and annotating shopping data but do not watch live video of customers.
These moderators contribute to the training of AI models that enhance the accuracy of the technology, ensuring a seamless and efficient shopping experience for customers.
As Amazon continues to innovate in the physical store technologies, the expansion of Dash Carts to third-party retailers represents a significant step forward in redefining the future of grocery shopping.
