E-commerce behemoth Amazon is testing 15 of its smart shopping carts that allow customers to skip the checkout line at a San Mateo, California, Whole Foods store, according to a Friday report by local newspaper The Mercury News. The California store is the sixth location to test this version of the carts, which were initially rolled out at a Westford, Massachusetts, Whole Foods two years ago.
The smart carts, which arrived at the California location a few weeks ago, require shoppers to first log in with an Amazon or Whole Foods account using a QR code, according to local TV station ABC 7 News. Once finished, the shopper walks out through a designated smart cart lane and the card associated with their account will be automatically charged.
“It scans, signs me in. It knows it’s me,” Amazon spokesperson Natalie Banke told the station. The cart uses multiple sensors to detect items within and create a running total displayed to the shopper. Instead of checking out, “all you do is walk out,” Banke said.
Source: Payments Dive