Online shopping has changed our world, offering speed, choice, convenience and flexibility like never before.
But our supermarket experience has barely changed in decades.
Cust2Mate, an Israeli startup says it’s bridging that gap, bringing the online benefits to the more than 80 per cent of customers who still do their weekly shop at a bricks-and-mortar store.
There’s fierce competition in the trolley market – supermarkets make more money from in-store custom owing to the high delivery costs of online orders – which is why they’re so keen to attract customers. But Cust2Mate believes that in tech terms it has the edge.
Shoppers scan the barcodes as they go and put the goods straight into their shopping bags. They see a running total – which is highly valued by customers, according to research – and pay on a laptop-sized screen, with no need to queue.
They can also upload their shopping list prior to shopping and the trolley will guide them round the store. If they’re heading for the fish, meat or cheese counter, it will book them a spot to save time.
It’s linked to the store’s product catalogue, so it knows what is kosher, vegetarian, gluten-free, or allergy-free.
It redeems vouchers, it arranges home delivery of heavy or bulky items. It links up the store’s loyalty scheme and offers discounts and recommendations based on whatever the shopper’s just scanned.
For the supermarkets a big benefit is that the retrofit Cust2Mate screens hook on to their existing fleet of trolleys.
Cust2Mate, based in Giv’atayim, near Tel Aviv, has yet to deploy its trolleys in UK supermarkets, but has more than £130 million of orders from retailers in Israel and Central America.
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