Since last week, Schwarz Group has been trialling Hanshow’s ‘Smart Cart’ clip-on devices at its large-format banner operation Kaufland in Germany. The devices from the Chinese manufacturer were initially introduced at one Kaufland store in Baden-Württemberg: in Jettingen-Oberjettingen. Furthermore, an outlet in the Rhine-Main region is also set to get the devices soon, as The Retail Optimiser has learnt from employees of the retail company.
The clip-on devices, which transform existing shopping trolleys into smartcarts, are integrated into Kaufland’s self-scanning system known as K-Scan. They are not supposed to replace the self-scanning of goods using Zebra handheld devices, but rather to complement it for larger purchases. As part of the existing K-Scan system, registration with the Kaufland Card Xtra or the corresponding app is required to use the Hanshow devices. Customers using the solution at Kaufland pay for their shopping at self-checkouts.
Hanshow’s solution transforms existing shopping trolleys into smart trolleys. The solution therefore does not offer any theft protection via weight checks on the products placed in the trolley. The device is equipped with two high-performance sensor cameras, which can also be used to monitor the scanning of items selected by customers in real time. However, during a test shopping trip by the Retail Optimiser team in Jettingen, the Smart Cart did not react to items placed in the trolley without being scanned.
Software front-end by Schwarz IT and Hanshow
The software for the user front-end in the trial at Kaufland was developed by Schwarz IT in collaboration with Hanshow and integrated into the existing till system with the help of Kaufland’s POS software supplier, Gebit.
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For Hanshow, the trial with Europe’s largest grocery retailer is a significant success. The smart trolley market now has competition not only from KBST and Pentland Firth – the two experienced players with close ties to the Edeka Group – but also from the market leader in shopping trolleys, Wanzl and its challenger, Geck. Last but not least, the US group Instacart is also making considerable efforts to establish its Caper Cart on the European market.
Many providers are entering the market
Israeli provider Shopic, A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions from Canada and Imagr from New Zealand have also already installed a number of units in European retail outlets. The leading Belgian retailer Colruyt is relying on smart trolleys that it has developed itself in collaboration with the Kassel-based company Expresso.
The smart trolley trend is also gaining momentum on the software front. Specialists such as Shopreme from Austria, as well as many established POS software suppliers to the retail sector, offer specialised front-end solutions for smart trolleys, which cleverly implement both anti-theft measures and interaction with customers and retail media on the smart trolleys.
Hanshow’s devices also in use at Bartels-Langness
The trial at Kaufland is not the first deployment of Hanshow’s ‘Smart Cart’ in Germany: since November last year, the northern German retail company Bartels-Langness has been testing this type of smart trolley at its Famila store in Altenholz, near Kiel, where customers attach the system themselves to conventional shopping trolleys. The Retail Optimiser reported.
Outside Europe, Hanshow’s ‘Smart Cart’ has been in use for some time in trials on retail floors. For example, the Australian retail giant Woolworths has installed the system in a number of its branches. The Retail Optimiser reported.
