How smart-cart technology drives repeat shoppers and 10% spend over traditional checkout
Amazon Fresh offers a seamless grocery shopping experience, whether customers shop in store or online. Its customer-obsessed shopping environment focuses on continuous improvement, providing customers with more convenient choices. Seeking to innovate and differentiate in grocery retail, Amazon Fresh explored new ways to personalize the shopping experience.
Enter Dash Cart—a personal shopping companion that reduces the main pain points associated with grocery shopping, such as waiting in line, bagging and re-bagging items, and finding items throughout the store. Its interactive interface puts the consumer in the driver’s seat of their shopping trip.
After Dash Cart launched in select Amazon Fresh stores in 2020, its impact is clear: 80% of Dash Cart shoppers are repeat users, it has a 98% customer satisfaction rating, and Dash Cart shoppers spend 10% more than non–Dash Cart shoppers (Dash Cart User Data, Q1 2024, Source: Amazon). In response to shopper feedback, Amazon Fresh will roll out Dash Cart to all US stores by the end of 2024.
Dash Cart brings efficiency and ease to grocery shopping
While nearly all (97%) US adults grocery shop at least once per month, it can be a cumbersome experience. In grocery and large-format stores, where the number of items purchased and total spend are often higher than in smaller locations, shoppers tell us that a running tally of purchases is more important to them. They want to manage budgeting during their shopping journey in real time—including the ability to weigh produce and understand costs—before checking out. Just over 50% of shoppers say that a faster checkout experience would improve their grocery trips, and 51% indicate that over the last year, they have spent more time looking for items on sale. In response, grocery retailers are exploring new ways to streamline shopping for current users, which will in turn create new visitors.
Dash Cart transforms the grocery shopping experience with a combination of computer vision algorithms, integrated scales, and sensor fusion to identify cart items. Its interactive user interface empowers the shopper and acts as their personal shopping companion. At Amazon Fresh, shoppers sign in with the camera below their shopping cart’s handlebar, scanning their Amazon Store Code in the Amazon app. Shoppers can then scan, weigh, and bag items as they go. The Dash Cart screen displays a real-time receipt of all cart items, including savings from coupons and promotions. Store maps help the shopper search for and find exactly what they need, pinpoint an item’s location, and navigate to items throughout the store. Digital coupons are shown to the Dash Cart shopper so they can clip and save on items. Most importantly, when shoppers are ready to check out, they can skip the checkout line to exit the store through the designated Dash Cart lane. Afterward, an itemized receipt is instantly emailed to them.
Customer satisfaction increases loyalty and contributes to operational efficiency for Amazon Fresh
Dash Cart shopper feedback is positive, especially on the ease of use, convenience, and time saved. In a survey at the end of Amazon Fresh shopping trips, 98% of customers reported being “satisfied” with their trip. As one customer noted, “It was fast and convenient and helped me know my total purchase amount and savings along the way. I like not having to wait in the checkout line.” Additionally, repeat Dash Cart shoppers complete the exit lane process 41% faster than first-time users with similarly sized baskets. As another customer said, “It gets easier to use each time. It becomes faster and more convenient.” The Dash Cart also drives retention, as these tenured customers account for more than 50% of Dash Cart trips.
For Amazon Fresh, happy shoppers translate to more spending: Dash Cart shoppers spend 10% more than non–Dash Cart shoppers. Some of this increase is fueled by trip mission—shoppers planning a large trip are more likely to grab a cart, whether shopping smart or traditionally.
Store employees who previously fulfilled a transactional, checkout-centered role can now focus on providing customer service, managing inventory, or addressing other in-store needs. Store employees like how easy it is to use the Dash Cart, how the increased staff availability leads to better staff scheduling, and the flexibility of not only working at a checkout counter their entire shift.
“The Dash Cart is one of the ways we’re helping customers save time while shopping in our stores, giving them another option to reduce friction from grocery trips of all sizes,” said Claire Peters, VP of Amazon Fresh. “The Dash Cart has always made in-store shopping more convenient by allowing customers to skip the checkout line and view their receipt as they shop. With the latest version, they also have the ability to easily find nearby products and deals, and know how much money they saved while shopping throughout the store. We’re excited to offer the Dash Cart as a checkout option at our Amazon Fresh stores in the US.”
Since launch, more than 10 million items—and counting—have been purchased with Dash Carts at Amazon Fresh stores. The Dash Cart is an innovative solution that attracts new consumers, drives loyalty, personalizes the shopping experience, and offers opportunities to optimize operational costs—all while increasing basket size and overall sales.
Features of the Dash Cart
To learn more about Amazon Dash Carts, visit https://aws.amazon.com/dash-cart/