Photo: Shopic
Wegmans last September reluctantly discontinued use of its popular SCAN self-checkout app because thieves were exploiting the technology to walk out of the grocer’s stores without paying for their purchases. The family-owned chain is now testing smart cart technology that they hope can replace the SCAN app without the security concerns that came with it.
Stores in the Buffalo and Rochester, NY, areas have begun a pilot that involves a rectangular device from the Israeli firm Shopic that clips to the handles of Wegmans’ shopping carts and includes a long bar with cameras and sensors to track and tally items as they are picked by customers. The artificial intelligence-driven device called Shop-E is able to catalog over 50,000 SKUs and can identify products when they are in motion or if multiple items are placed in the cart at the same time. Customers remove it when they’re done shopping and before they head out to the parking lot.
Wegmans has not provided much information on the early stage pilot. Company spokesperson Michele Mehaffy told The Buffalo News, "We recently selected customers to test the new technology as we take an iterative approach and focus on gathering feedback.”
Security is a major concern for Wegmans after its previous experience with its self-checkout app. Self-checkout technology has always been susceptible to theft. As many as 20 percent of individuals using self-checkout tech have admitted to having stolen something at some point in time.
Wegmans in September made clear that its setback with SCAN did not mean it was abandoning solutions to speed the checkout process. The chain told its customers, “We’ve made the decision to turn off the app until we can make improvements that will meet the needs of our customers and business. We’ve learned a lot, and we will continue to introduce new digital solutions to streamline the shopping experience for the future.”
Shopic, the company behind the technology being tested by Wegmans, last year raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Qualcomm Ventures with an eye towards the U.S. market. Shufersal, the largest grocery retailer in Israel, was among the investors.