The Xpress Trolley, South Africa’s first smart shopping trolley, has been introduced as part of an exciting pilot program by Shoprite Checkers to revolutionise in-store shopping. With the help of this advanced trolley, customers can track their spending in real time, scan and bag products as they buy, and pay directly on the trolley, altogether avoiding traditional checkout lines.
The retailer describes the Xpress Trolley as a “major step towards a frictionless, technology-led in-store experience.” The trolley is presently undergoing testing at two Checkers locations in the Western Cape
Xpress Trolley puts shoppers in control
Shoppers can access helpful information and use the Xpress Trolley’s screen easily. Scannable Xtra Savings cards are the first step in a smooth shopping experience.
Product descriptions, total basket worth, and deals for that shopper are shown on the screen. Through in-store guidance, users can find things without walking through the store. Users can quickly plan their trips with real-time control, making things easier and faster.
Neil Schreuder, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Shoprite Group, highlighted the importance of this innovation: “Smart trolleys aren’t about the novelty of screens on trolleys – they’re about giving shoppers real-time control, creating a compelling shopping experience.”
He also highlighted that Sixty60’s pickers may benefit from faster and more accurate shopping.
How the Xpress Trolley works: streamlined and speedy
Customers scan their Xtra Savings card on the screen of the shopping trolley and then put the shopping bags that come with it in the cart. As shoppers add things to their carts, they scan each barcode and immediately put their purchases in bags.
The running sum helps customers who are watching their spending stay on track right then and there. When customers are done, they pay at the trolley using a bank card tied to their Checkers Sixty60 account. They then take their printed till slip to an exit gate and don’t have to unload or wait in the queue again.
This pilot operates with a restricted number of trolleys—ten at Checkers Hyper Brackenfell and an additional ten at Checkers Constantia.
However, if the pilot is successful, the innovative technology could be implemented more widely throughout the nation. As Schreuder puts it, “This pilot allows us to reimagine the in-store journey using technology for a more frictionless shopping experience”.