Grocery stores without cash registers? It could happen soon in NJ

One of the innovations that Amazon has brought to brick and mortar retailing is the “dash cart”, the system that automatically keeps track of the items you put in your cart and charges your on-file credit card without ever going through a checkout line.

Now, another grocery store operator is going to test their own checkout-less system of shopping.

As reported in the Asbury Park Press, Wakefern Food, which owns several grocery stores in New Jersey, including some ShopRites, is going to test out a method of shopping that doesn’t require a checkout line.

Here’s how it works: when you enter the store, you scan a QR code on an app on your smartphone, and then it tracks what you take off the shelves and records the price. The technology is sensitive enough to work in a crowded store environment and will also know when you put an item back. When you’re done, you simply leave the store, bypassing the checkout lines.

The autonomous technology used was developed by Trigo, an Israeli company, and is already being used in Europe.

"With Trigo's frictionless technology, Wakefern Food Corp. is opening up access to cutting edge innovation for our members," said Charlie McWeeney, Wakefern's vice president of technology, innovation and strategy, in a statement.

Wakefern has not announced which stores will be used for the pilot program, but it certainly could be your neighborhood Shop-Rite. No date for the trial run was announced, either. While it will be more convenient for customers, it will also mean fewer grocery store jobs.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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