Latest news with #SmartTrolley
9 News
10-07-2025
- Business
- 9 News
Major change coming to Woolworths supermarket aisles
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here BREAKING Multiple pedestrians hit by car in Melbourne Woolworths is expanding its digital supermarket trolley rollout, allowing thousands of customers to track their spending in real-time. The trolleys were first introduced across 10 stores in NSW in August last year as a part of trial. Woolworths is expanding the roll-out of its digital supermarket trolley, allowing thousands of customers to track their spending in real-time. (Woolworths) Shoppers with an Everyday Rewards card can unlock a tablet-style device from a charging wall at the front of the store and attach it to their trolley to start shopping. The device will allow shoppers to track their spending in real-time and pack their groceries as they go. When shoppers are ready to check out with the trolleys, they will be able to head to the self-service checkout to pay for their shop. Shoppers with an Everyday Rewards card can unlock a tablet-style device from a charging wall at the front of the store and attach it to their trolley. (Woolworths) The digital trolleys were first rolled out at 10 NSW stores including Kellyville, Kellyville Grove, Kellyville North, Lane Cove, North Parramatta, Oran Park, Schofields Town Centre, The Ponds, Warringah Mall and Windsor. This month, the trolleys will launch at Woolworths supermarkets in Neutral Bay Village, Richmond, Menai, Mortdale, Revesby, Hornsby, Rutherford, Kotara, Green Hills and Erina. In Victoria, the digital supermarket trolleys will be available this month at Chirnside Park, Malvern, Mornington East, Rye, St Helena and Thrift Park. The Moonee Ponds store will receive the trolleys in September. Eight Queensland stores will receive the trolleys this month, including Burleigh Heads, Caloundra, Capalaba Park, Currimundi, Nambour, Noosa, Northlakes and Warner. Following the success of Scan&Go, Coles announced a trial of digital Smart Trolleys to "help shoppers save time, manage their budgets and checkout faster" in partnership with Instacart in November last year. "Our customers have responded positively to the Smart Trolley shopping experience, praising its real-time spend tracking to manage their budget, the convenience of packing as they shop, and the ability to streamline the checkout process so they can pay on the trolley and go," a spokesperson said. The smart trolleys are currently being trialled at Coles Richmond Traders in Melbourne. CONTACT US
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Coles shoppers lose their minds over little-known trolley feature: 'What in the world?!'
A newly trolley feature at Coles has made grocery shopping more convenient and even 'fun' – yet many people are unaware of its existence. Alessia Allfree and Taz Zammit recently shared a video on TikTok where they took the newly introduced Coles AI-powered Smart Trolleys for a test run – with the stunned content creators captioning the post: 'WHAT in the WORLD!'. The Melbourne couple's 'robot trolley' video, which has since been viewed almost 200,000 times, showed them popping into Richmond Traders shopping centre in Victoria, the first Coles store to have introduced the smart trolleys. 'Today were doing a food shop, and we're going to test out the robot trolleys,' Alessia said. Taz and Alessia, who post under the account @tazandalessia, then proceeded to do their shopping while using the innovative trolley. The trolley utilises a combination of advanced AI technology, sensors, an in-built scale and an interactive screen, which allows customers to scan groceries directly into their shopping trolley as they go. This tech also enables shoppers to track their spending in real time on the interactive screen and streamlines the checkout process. This trolley is free to use – and no app is required. The digital content creators confirmed in their video that it was their 'first time using a smart trolley' and that it was easy to set-up, use and manoeuvre. The couple then proceeded to demonstrate exactly how they scanned their groceries while placing them into their cart, simply by waving them past a sensor panel inside the trolley. The trolley's digital screen displayed each item as it was scanned and also made a 'beep' sound, akin to a self-checkout register. The item was then added to a running tally of their entire shop. The interactive screen located next to the the trolley handles additionally displayed the week's specials and could be used to search for the aisle location of particular products. Interestingly, Taz inadvertently demonstrated the specials feature when she placed two lemons inside her shopping cart. After scanning the citrus fruits, the interactive screen prompted Taz about this week's deal offering four lemons for $4. 'Ooo, it's upselling us,' Taz noted. 'I'm a sucker for an up sale.' Once their trolley was loaded with shopping, the ladies simply needed to proceed to a Smart Trolley express lane to complete the check-out process, with the the payment done on the device attached to the trolley. The trolley also has a 'gamification' feature for Coles app and Flybuys members. At the conclusion of the shop, those who've spent a minimum amount will be prompted to 'Spin the Wheel' to unlock additional discounts. The TikTok content creators tested out this feature in their viral video, resulting in them unlocking $2 off their shop. 'This makes shopping so much more fun. It's like a game,' Alessia said. Coles announced earlier this year that they would be trialling the new smart trolley in their Richmond store, with the goal of offering a unique and convenient new way to shop. Despite the smart trolley's multitude of features, Alessia and Taz told Yahoo that very few other shoppers appeared to as yet be using the carts as yet, suggesting there may be hesitation around the new technology. But after doing their own test run, the social media creators believed it could easily become the new norm. 'It was better than using the self-checkout,' they said. Indeed, the comments section was filled with replies from excited Aussie shoppers eager to get their hands on the smart trolleys. 'I wanna try those trolleys so bad,' read one reply. 'Shopping like that would be so addictive,' added another. One follower questioned Taz and Alessia about how exactly fresh produce, like fruit and vegetables, are weighed, to which they replied: 'The trolley weighs it!' A Coles media release in late 2024 heralded the upcoming arrival of the AI-powered Smart Trolleys, which had been developed in partnership with grocery technology company, Instacart. Coles Chief Digital Officer Ben Hassing said: 'As the first retailer in Australia to introduce AI-powered trolleys, we're excited to offer our customers a convenient and engaging way to shop in-store, helping them save time, manage their budget and checkout faster – or at their own pace.' 'With cost-of-living pressures top of mind, we've found customers especially love the way the digital screen on the trolley helps them to see their running total and manage their budget in real-time along with discovering further discounts,' Instacart Chief Connected Stores Officer David McIntosh added.
Associated Press
10-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Instacart's Smart Trolleys are Now Available at Coles Supermarkets in Australia
Coles Supermarkets is the first retailer in the Asia Pacific region to deploy Caper Carts, Instacart's AI-powered smart trolleys SAN FRANCISCO and MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, and Coles Supermarkets (ASX: COL), one of Australia's leading retailers, today announced the rollout of Caper Carts, Instacart's AI-powered smart trolleys, at its Richmond Traders location in Melbourne. Customers can now shop smarter, bag as they shop, and pay directly on the Coles Smart Trolley for a seamless in-store shopping experience. Customers can find the new Coles Smart Trolleys at the front entrance of the Coles Richmond Traders supermarket. Caper Carts are equipped with AI, cameras, and a built-in scale, which work together to automatically recognize items as they are added to the trolley. Caper Carts enable customers to bag as they shop and watch their running total – similar to an online shopping experience. At the end of their shopping, customers can conveniently checkout directly from the trolley. Caper Carts sync to Coles' Flybuys rewards program, allowing customers to earn points as they shop. Customers can scan their Flybuys card or Coles app to instantly access personalized offers and view in-store specials on the trolley's digital screen. When customers shop in-store with Caper Carts, they can later view purchased items under their 'buy it again' list on the Coles app and website. Equipped with gamified capabilities, customers also have the chance to win discounts by spinning a digital wheel on the trolley's screen at checkout. Coles is the first retailer in the APAC region to launch Instacart's Caper Carts, as well as the first retailer in Australia to introduce AI-powered trolleys. Demonstrating their strategic commitment to meeting their customers' rising digital usage, the Coles Smart Trolley is creating an easier, faster and more enjoyable omnichannel shopping experience for customers – fully bringing the benefits of online shopping to the in-store journey. 'Coles Supermarkets is our ideal partner to introduce Caper Carts in the APAC region because we share a similar vision for creating a personalized shopping experience that delights customers,' said David McIntosh, Chief Connected Stores Officer at Instacart. 'We've already heard first-hand from Coles customers how the trolleys are easy to use, while enabling them to track their spending and bag as they shop. Caper Carts are transforming the chore of shopping into an adventure, leveraging Edge AI-powered systems to make the shopping experience fun and personalized. We're excited to bring Caper Carts to Australia in partnership with Coles and continue to collaborate to deliver the best possible in-store shopping experience, bringing what customers love best about online shopping into the store, and vice-versa.' 'We're proud to be the first retailer in Australia to offer AI-powered smart trolleys to our customers, bringing our omnichannel vision to life,' said Ben Levinson, General Manager for Digital Product at Coles. 'Caper Carts help our customers bag as they shop, manage their budget, and save time with faster checkout – all while providing a more personalised shopping experience. We're always looking for new ways to further improve the customer shopping experience and are excited to introduce smart shopping trolleys as another convenient way to shop our aisles.' Caper Carts bring the beloved attributes of online grocery shopping to the store experience. The smart trolleys enable retailers like Coles to offer their customers a way to save money on food and grocery essentials, while delivering a delightful shopping experience as they shop the store aisles. In the US – where more than a dozen grocers have launched Caper Carts – customer reception has been notably strong with customers offering a net promoter score of more than 70 at ramped locations, in line with some of the world's most loved brands. Caper Carts are part of Instacart's Connected Stores suite of technologies, built to help grocers bridge the online and in-store shopping experience. To learn more about Instacart's Caper Carts and Connected Stores, visit About Instacart Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit and to start shopping, visit Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart. About Coles Supermarkets Coles is one of Australia's leading retailers, with more than 1,800 supermarkets and liquor stores nationally. Coles employs more than 120,000 team members, engages with more than 8,000 suppliers, and welcomes millions of customers through its store network and digital platforms every week. Coles' purpose is to help Australians eat and live better every day.
