Supermarket Uses GPS Tracking Devices on Shopping Carts
26 May 2015Technology takes GPS tracking one step further by tracking shopper’s habits through their shopping carts.
Everywhere you look, research teams are being compiled to utilize modern technology, including global positioning systems (GPS), for gathering important data. The latest use for this GPS tracking technology is in shopping carts. Not just one supermarket is using this technology, but in several locations in the world, and for different reasons.
The first is being used in New Zealand, with a device called the PathFinder. A supermarket in Auckland is using the GPS tracking device in shopping carts and hand-held baskets to track the shopper’s habits. It looks at data such as what departments the customer shops in, how they select groceries, and how much they spend. Most GPS tracking studies and projects inform the person they are being tracked, but not in this case.
The carts and baskets have GPS satellite tracking devices and batteries hidden under the handle of the basket or near the front of the shopping carts. The technology was invented by New World Victoria Park, with Jason Witehira at the head of the project. He told reporters he could log on to the program from any computer and watch the baskets or carts move through the supermarket. He says it has helped him change the store’s layout to become more efficient.
Shopping cart GPS tracking is also being used in the United States at Piggly Wiggly supermarkets, the very supermarket that invented the original shopping cart in 1937. Now the supermarket has taken it one step further by combining technology and convenience. There is a small tracking computer in each cart that looked at the route of the shoppers, how long it takes them to find what they need or make a selection, and how quickly they go through the supermarkets. The GPS tracking can also look at what order items were put into the cart.
With a nearby computer, researchers use this data to create personal shopping profiles of their customers. These customers, unlike in New Zealand, are aware of the GPS trackers. They even put in their loyalty card in the computer to identity them as the shopper. It helps the customer get connected with advertising that attracts them, based on their behavioral profile.
Piggly Wiggly hopes that it benefits them by knowing how to set up their stores, attract certain trends of shopping, and change with their moods. This data is expected to help customers and store owners alike, and more stores throughout the country may soon have GPS tracking.
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