French grocery retailer Intermarché is trialling AI-powered shopping carts at its store in Provins.

The carts are attached with a clip-on device which is powered by computer vision technology that can automatically recognise thousands of items without needing the customer to manually scan them.

Intermarché said that the trial, which it has partnered with retail tech firm Shopic and Capgemini to roll out, improves the shopping experience for customers and streamlines the checkout process.

The carts also enable the retailer’s customers to track their budget in real time, check their loyalty points, and see offers and promotions directly applied to their cart total.

Over the long term, the retailer said it has plans to integrate personalised retail media such as advertising and supplier offers through the shopping journey which will enable customers to see relevant content to suit their needs.

“We are delighted with our collaboration with Shopic for this pilot project, which is an excellent opportunity to concretely test the benefits of AI, using computer vision, for retail,” said Perrine Vignon, owner of Intermarché in Provins.

“Customers of the Provins supermarket will benefit from a simplified, fast, and efficient shopping journey thanks to the smart carts.”

In August, rival French grocery retailer Franprix partnered with retail technology firm Cust2Mate to deploy smart shopping carts in several of its stores in Paris.

The smart carts have a clip-on panel providing an all-in-one service for customers. Using AI technology, the cart self-scans products and takes payment for goods.

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