In the Stone Age grocery shopping was an analog task. You wrote down your shopping list, perhaps with something as quaint as a pencil. Traveled to the store, hopefully everything was refrigerated and after getting all your items you would call it a day.
Now there is a new way to shop. IBM and Springboard Retail Networks are each working on their own version of a computerized shopping cart. The cart can guide you through the aisles using a GPS like map. It won’t count your calories, but it can ring you up, making the grocery store a one-stop hassle free encounter. You’ll never get lost looking for pickles again, the cart will take you to them, just like you were on a treasure hunt.
But, seeing as how it will cost a store 160,000 to get fully equipped with the smart shopping carts, I have a feeling we won’t be seeing them at Costco anytime soon.