Wegmans is always on the edge of new technology.  Now, you can be one of the first to test a new system that will replace the SCAN app.

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A couple of years ago, Wegmans rolled out what they called the SCAN app.  It was an app that was meant to allow you to just scan your groceries and pay through the app itself.  It completely eliminated the wait at the cash register.  People LOVED IT.  However, it had its fair share of problems - the biggest being theft.  Unfortunately, not everyone was scanning everything that they were taking from the store.  Hundreds of thousands of items went unscanned and cost them big time.

But customers loved the convenience of it.  It was nice to just scan what you needed and then hit a button on your phone when you were all done and go.  Less face-to-face interaction was a huge positive too when it debuted because it was in the beginning of the pandemic.

So what should Wegmans do?  They want to provide convenience, but it can't outweigh their bottom line.

Their latest answer is a "Smart Cart."

Taking advantage of artificial intelligence, they've developed grocery carts that will allow the carts to do the scanning for them.  The "Smart Carts" are actually small electronic devices that clip to the normal carts.  There are sensors and cameras on the device that will log the items as you bag them yourself.

“We recently selected customers to test the new technology because we take an iterative approach and focus on gathering feedback from a small group of customers,” Michele Mehaffy - a spokeswoman for Wegmans.

While the carts aren't available for everyone right now, they will be testing them on a small group of customers at the Alberta Drive Wegmans here in Buffalo.

Do you think this will help?  Will they still struggle with theft?  Does it sound like something you'd want to use?

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