Amazon’s Dash Cart is the new checkout-free solution

The cart will roll out at the company’s soon-to-open Woodland Hills, California, grocery store this year.

Amazon supermarket chain is on the way

According to professional news, Amazon is planning to open more grocery stores besides the Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery and Amazon Fresh concepts. The online giant is building a fresh, larger-sized supermarket network. Besides the California site mentioned above, there are three Philadelphia sites and two Pennsylvania locations, which reportedly could be open by the end of the year. This area is very competitive for grocers. The Giant and  ShopRite are the market leaders with around 15-15% market share. From price point of view Lidl will be the big opponent. Amazon looks seriously engaged  to take on traditional grocery.

At the forefront of technology

Amazon hasn’t said much about its forthcoming grocery store chain, but one thing it has stated for months is that those stores will utilize conventional checkout lanes. Now it is evident that its grocery stores are also putting Amazon Go technology inside specialized shopping carts for the cashier-free experience of its Amazon Go stores.

The Dash Cart is the latest example of how Amazon is using its technology muscle to stand apart from established retail competitors as it builds out its grocery and convenience store footprint. And it comes at a time when quick, contactless shopping is of the utmost importance to consumers. While other retailers are offering scan-and-go programs that require shoppers to scan each product barcode as an alternative to conventional checkout lanes, the Dash Cart recognizes each item as it’s placed inside the cart, flashing a white light and emitting a beep to indicate the item has been logged (an orange light means “try again”). As with Amazon Go, shoppers can put any products they don’t want back on the shelf and the cart will note the change. The Dash Cart also integrates shopping lists and checks off each item as its placed inside. The system logs the purchase using the credit card shoppers have on file with Amazon and emails a receipt.

The system isn’t completely frictionless. Shoppers have to punch in PLU codes for any fresh produce they select and confirm the weight on the cart’s screen. It also isn’t available for more than two bags of items which can be limitating. the system appears to be portable. That means Amazon could bring the smart carts to its roughly 500 Whole Foods stores, which have struggled to excite shoppers since the e-commerce giant took over in 2017.