What To Know If You Come Across A 'Smart Cart' For The First Time While Grocery Shopping

You already know technology, such as shopping apps, can make it easier for you to make your way through the grocery store (and avoid the annoying headaches that come with the self-checkout process). If you haven't already, you might start to see smart carts at your local grocery store, a new form of technology that makes it even faster for you to get in, find deals, pay, and get out the door. These carts essentially let you move through the checkout process as you walk through the store, cutting down on any time you'd spend waiting in line or checking out at the end of your shopping trip.

Smart shopping carts offer a few different features, including AI-enabled cameras, digital screens, and GPS trackers. Some smart carts guide you through the store, helping you find ways to save money and showing you the most convenient paths to get where you need to go (which can help you avoid buying products you don't need). Much like the "Scan & Go" feature on the Sam's Club app, smart carts let you scan your groceries as you go, keeping a running total on your cart's screen. After you're done shopping, you can tap or swipe your credit or debit card directly on the cart, eliminating the need to check out with a store employee or self-checkout scanner.

If you happen to walk into a grocery store and see that a smart cart is available, go ahead and pick it up. If you feel a little intimidated at the idea of walking around the store with one, know that it shouldn't take long for you to get the hang of it. They're surprisingly intuitive, and you may find that it makes your shopping experience easier. Smart carts don't even require you to go through the scanning process like you would at a self-checkout: Advanced scanners can track and scan bar codes when you toss an item into, or remove an item from, your cart. Smart carts can even weigh produce, and they're able to figure out what you're weighing without you finding the sticker and entering the code.

Some grocery stores aren't fully deploying a fleet of smart carts yet. Rather, they're offering full smart carts and clip-on smart carts alongside regular carts for people who don't quite feel comfortable with a fully digital shopping experience. While smart carts vary from one store to the next, the most user-friendly features, such as in-store scanning and payment options, are likely to be commonplace.