SK Telecom today announced the launch of a pilot test for Smart Cart in Korea with E-Mart, the nation’s largest retail chain. Smart Cart is an innovative service that uses a smartphone and a smart shopping cart equipped with tablet PC to offer diverse shopping-related information based on accurate indoor positioning technology. After downloading the Smart Cart application to their smartphones, customers can search for shopping/discount information, store coupons and draw up a shopping list.Then at supermarkets or retail stores, the customer’s smartphone is synchronized with a tablet PC installed to a smart shopping cart through user authentication. Within the stores, depending on their location, customers can get useful information – e.g. catalogue, product information, discount information, etc. – and receive coupons using augmented reality technology. At the checkout counter, the tablet screen shows the list of purchased items, membership points and available coupons.
Indoor positioning technology uses both UWB and Zigbee to offer location information within error range of one meter and diverse real-time information updates appear on screen of tablet PCs attached to shopping carts via Wi-Fi networks. Smart Cart is expected to realize a truly personalized, smart shopping service once integrated with the customer relations management (CRM)-related information including the E-mart customers’ purchase history and usage patterns. Customers will enjoy greater convenience through location-based information of products they wish to purchase, improved access to all available discounts.