Shopping carts that leave a supermarket’s premises do not simply disappear at the door. Sometimes they travel a few metres into the car park, other times they end up on a nearby street and, when this happens repeatedly, the cost can be very high.
The problem is that constantly monitoring shopping carts and retrieving them requires time and staff, not to mention the cost of replacing them if they are not recovered. SmartWheel puts a stop to all of this, but how?
When the cart tries to cross the boundary, SmartWheel stops it
A supermarket may have a clearly defined area where shopping carts must remain, but that does not mean there is a physical barrier preventing them from leaving it.
SmartWheel is an intelligent wheel that receives a signal from a control system and locks the cart when it reaches a specific, predefined area.
This means staff do not have to keep track of every cart or confront customers when they attempt to leave the designated perimeter.
This system makes it possible to:
- Reduce unknown loss
- Reduce the financial cost of replacing carts and products
- Eliminate the time staff have to take away from their tasks to retrieve carts
- Maintain greater availability of both carts and staff for customers
In addition, because the technology is integrated into the wheel itself, the usual shopping experience remains unchanged.
How does it work?
SmartWheel is based on communication between the intelligent wheel and the system that controls the perimeter. The supermarket defines this perimeter according to its requirements using antennas installed on the premises.
When a cart approaches the boundary, the antenna sends a signal to the wheel, which locks to prevent the cart from moving forward. Once the cart returns to the authorised area, the wheels resume normal operation.
Because the system works through signals rather than physical barriers, there is no need to modify entrances or place obstacles in passageways. The protection remains virtually invisible to customers while remaining effective for the store.
Putting a limit on the problem
Losing a cart from time to time may seem like a minor inconvenience, but when it happens repeatedly, it becomes a significant expense and a problem that affects the customer experience.
SmartWheel helps prevent this situation before it happens: it creates an invisible boundary that the cart cannot cross when someone attempts to take it outside the authorised perimeter.
If you want to prevent carts from leaving the premises and reduce the associated losses, this Carttec solution is the best way to protect your resources without interfering with the shopping experience.
