Smart shelves, trolleys and refrigerators

Grocery shopping ... a new task on the "Internet of Things" agenda

Physical grocery shopping remains the preferred option because it ensures that we get the products we want and choose the freshest produce.

From the source

Many aspects of our lives have changed since the invention of the Internet and smartphones.

These technologies are available to individuals, institutions and companies, and allow to obtain almost everything we need in terms of information, products or services at the touch of a button.

And even though that changed many things in our lives, grocery shopping habits remained the same.

E-commerce revolutionized many aspects of retailing, but it was largely confined to non-perishable consumer goods, including clothing and electronic devices.

Experts are trying to take advantage of innovative technologies to change the experience of online shopping, including virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, but most people (six out of ten in the UAE) still prefer the traditional method, that is, go to the grocery store and choose the products themselves.

Physical grocery shopping remains the preferred option, as it ensures that we get the products we want and choose the freshest produce.

And the Internet of Things, which is getting closer than before, may provide the much awaited technical update to the grocery shopping experience.

Handwritten shopping lists will disappear, products won't get damaged at home and food won't be wasted, thanks to IoT.

The Internet of Things will change the future of grocery shopping thanks to smart shelves, smart shopping carts and digital signage, and it will allow smart refrigerators to create shopping lists and order the necessary goods.

These are some of the most anticipated developments to expect in the coming years for a personalized shopping experience thanks to the Internet of Things.

Smart carts

Amazon sparked a major controversy when it announced its "Amazon Go" service, a grocery store that allows products to be purchased without having to queue to pay for them.

Smart shelves identify the removed products and add them to a virtual shopping cart, using cameras, sensors and special software applications.

Amazon launched this service in 2018 and has not yet launched it outside the United States.

It transforms two obstacles to other supermarkets that embrace this concept;

First, most stores store on their shelves much more goods than "Amazon", which makes it difficult for cameras to identify all products, especially fresh materials that do not have a standard shape and size, and secondly, most supermarkets do not want to fully upgrade the infrastructure of their stores.

Imager has developed smart card technology, which integrates cameras and sensors into the shopping cart, to allow customers to enjoy shopping without queues and without the need to upgrade entire stores.

Dubai Municipality also revealed its version of the smart shopping cart, which is a shopping cart that tracks the consumer throughout the store, and allows hands-free shopping.

Digital signage

Personalization is still one of the hottest trends in retail, but grocery shopping is not keeping up with our times, and that could change thanks to digital signage.

Digital signage may provide personalized real-time offers by linking to a dedicated supermarket app.

The app analyzes past shopping data and demographic information, enables supermarkets to offer promotions according to age, gender and other criteria, and reduces reliance on employees by automating manual tasks and updating price lists.

The technology is expected to spread in the UAE in various aspects of the sector.

Choose fresh produce

Supermarkets are expected to apply IoT technology throughout the supply chain, starting with the farm where fresh produce is grown, and on their journey to the store, to ensure only fresh produce reaches the shelves.

Supermarkets that use the Internet of Things can guarantee the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, among others, by monitoring the levels of light, water and nutrients that reach the products at their source, and using sensors in delivery trucks to monitor the temperature, and using smart shelves to monitor how long each product remains on the shelf. Monitor demand better and reduce waste accordingly.

The Internet of Things will be used increasingly throughout the food supply chain in the UAE as part of government efforts to improve food security and reduce waste.

Smart refrigerators

The expected changes in the grocery shopping experience will depend on the upgrade of technologies and infrastructure in supermarkets, and smart refrigerators connected to the Internet of Things will have an important role in determining the consumer's need.

Major technology companies, including Samsung and LG, have designed smart refrigerators that work with this technology.

Smart fridges are able to track inventory and determine consumer preferences by using a combination of cameras, smart shelves, bar codes and identification chips that rely on radio waves, so that consumers know which products are lacking.

And it is possible to send notifications of this to the smartphone through an application, or display it on the digital screen of the refrigerator.

Smart fridges will provide people with the ability to bring needed products, create a shopping list for the most used products, and suggest recipes based on the foods in them.

• Dubai Municipality unveiled a smart shopping cart that tracks the consumer throughout the store, and allows hands-free shopping.

• 6 out of 10 in the UAE still prefer to go to the grocery store and pick products themselves.

Handwritten shopping lists will disappear, products will not be damaged at home and food will not be wasted, thanks to the Internet of Things.

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