NEW YORK — Amazon has a new cure for long supermarket lines: a smart shopping cart. The grocery cart, which Amazon unveiled on Tuesday, uses cameras, sensors and a scale to automatically detect what shoppers drop in.
It keeps a tally and then charges their Amazon account when they leave the store, no cashier needed.
Amazon said carts can be used through the Amazon app. Shoppers just scan a QR code, place their bags in the cart and start shopping.
The cart, called Amazon Dash Cart, is the latest attempt by Amazon to shake up the supermarket industry and offer a solution to long checkout lines.
The cart has some convenient features, including a screen at the top where shoppers can access their Alexa Shopping List to check items off and view their subtotal. In addition, every cart is equipped with a coupon scanner where someone can quickly apply store coupons as they shop.
Amazon’s cart will first show up at a new Woodland Hills, California, supermarket Amazon is opening later this year. The store will have cashiers, but Amazon said it wanted to give shoppers another option to bypass any lines.
The company said it was specifically designed for small- to medium-sized grocery trips and fits about two grocery bags.
