Smart Shopping Cart

Yep, I've been chomping at the bit for a WiFi enabled, email receiving, personalization enabled shopping cart. Haven't you? The Shopping Buddy Cart is here:

Each new "Shopping Buddy" cart mounts a wireless, touch-screen IBM computer, equipped with a laser scanner to allow shoppers to scan items as they place them in the cart. Among other features, the computer will alert shoppers as they approach favorite items or promotions. Stop & Shop says the intelligent carts will be in 23 of its stores by April.

Supported by IBM's Store Integration Framework software, the Cart Companion software from Cuesol, an IBM Business Partner, enables a grocery shopper to have a personalized shopping assistant on his or her cart, and gives the shopper such features as:

-- The shopper's buying history and favorites, as well as the shopping list that could have been created at home and emailed to the store;
-- Notification of favorite items or other promotional items that are on sale, as the shopper approaches those items in the aisle;
-- Personalized offers, including coupons, in the aisle as the shopper approaches an item;
-- The ability to place a deli order from the cart, then picking up the order when the deli counter notifies the shopper on the cart's computer that it is ready;
-- The ability to locate particular items in the store
-- The shopper's loyalty program points and reward level;
-- Price checks through use of the personal shopping assistant's scanner;
-- The ability to keep a running total of items in the cart by scanning each item. The Shopping Buddy also shows total savings and allows for rapid self-checkout at the end of the shopping trip.
-- The ability to show promotional material and advertisements on the cart.
-- Stop & Shop also uses IBM Self Checkout systems to enable the self-checkout feature of the new Shopping Buddy once shoppers have completed their cart-based self-scan.