"Self-checkouts on wheels" are coming to a supermarket near you, says one of the country's largest supermarket operator.
High-tech trolleys with barcode scanners built into the handlebar and tablet screens displaying items and the checkout prices in real-time show a glimpse of what's to come for grocery shopping, tipped to increasingly become digital and online-based in coming years, says Foodstuffs chief executive Chris Quin. These trolleys, which Quin says are effectively self-checkouts on wheels, will be rolled out early next year for the first time in Foodstuffs' newest store, its Pukekohe New World supermarket in Auckland, which opened this morning. Shoppers can use the trolleys as they normally would, with the technology designed to streamline the checkout process and avoid waiting in queues. At the end of a shop a barcode will be generated which a checkout operator will scan and the payment can be made manually, or payment can be approved instantly through the supermarket's app. Quin says the supermarket operator would trial the high-tech trolleys it calls "Zoom trolleys" at the Pukekohe store, with the intention being to roll them out to its network of supermarkets next year. The intention is to replace traditional trolleys with the tech-savvy equivalent. Foodstuffs plans to start rolling the trolleys out to its 99 New World stores before rolling them out to Pak'nSave and Four Square stores."It is going to be a progressive roll out from just after the busy summer period," Quin told the Herald. "We're going to start with New World and see what we learn and make sure customers love it then we'll go from there. "We have a feeling that customers are going to want this to happen relatively quickly." The trolleys were inspired by the self-checkout experience and have been under development for 18 months. The trolleys will be able to send alerts to staff about items in customers' trolleys that need age identification, and enable staff and shoppers to communicate through the tablet, Quin said. "We'll be able to communicate with customers through the tablet screen to say 'here's something you may be interested in' or 'you've bought two but you might want three because there is a deal', interaction with the customer that doesn't happen today." He was unable to say how much Foodstuffs had invested in the technology. With time, the supermarket would establish areas for "Zoom trolley checkout", he said.
Foodstuffs built the technology
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Quin told the supermarket operator had built the technology in the trolleys itself over a period of 18 months "in a classic little dark room" in its Mt Roskill headquarters. "The first version, they were pretty horrible," he said. "They were made using 3D printers, basically prototyping. "The hardware itself that sits on the trolley is in many ways the easiest part of this ... making it work with our SAP system, which is the software we use at the core of our stores, and making it so that the customer is effectively shopping as if they were using a self-checkout being wheeled around the store - that's where the clever work has been." Foodstuffs previously had a partnership with New Zealand grocery software start-up Imagr, trialling similar technology, though focused on stored photographic images of products instead of barcode readers. "We felt that barcode reading was something very familiar and works really well and very trusted in our industry at the moment which is where we decided to start." High-tech trolleys were a glimpse of what was to come in the grocery sector, Quin said. "There's no doubt that online shopping is going to grow but I think when it comes to food, we have a personal relationship with food, and people like to choose their fresh product themselves ... I still think stores are going to be a place people are going to want to come to, to be inspired and engage with their shopping, and making that as frictionless as possible is really important." The trolleys have electronic location trackers and Quin said he did not expect the trolleys to be stolen from stores once they become widely available.
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Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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59.9% Yes, supporting people is important!
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25.8% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.4% ... It is complicated
Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???
“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.
On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.
[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.
Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.
Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”
Full article: www.theguardian.com...
If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.
Poll: Should complete designs be shared with the public, or should the community help shape the designs from the start?
The Post recently shared an opinion piece on the Harbour Crossing and why a more democratic approach might be needed 🚗🚲👟
While most decisions sit within the political arena, many organisations—like NZTA—manage long-term projects that go beyond party lines. Politics can sometimes disrupt progress, and the next Harbour Crossing is a big decision that will affect all Aucklanders.
We’d love your thoughts: Should near-complete, shovel-ready designs be shared with the public, or should the community have a hand in shaping the designs from the start?
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87% Community feedback and transparency is needed.
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13% No. This would be impossible in practice.
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