Smart Cart Technology Bridges Retail Data Gap by Capturing In-Store Shopper Behavior

A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: AZ) Chief Marketing Officer Yaniv Zukerman explains that while retailers have become highly proficient at tracking transactions, pricing and inventory, they have steadily lost visibility into how shoppers actually behave inside the store. Most existing systems capture only end results, such as what was purchased and when, leaving the entire in-aisle journey largely invisible. This disconnect creates a growing gap between how well retailers believe they understand their customers and how little they truly know about the decisions, hesitations and trade-offs that shape each shopping trip.

Zukerman points to smart cart technology as a way to close that gap by turning the shopping cart into a continuous, consent-based engagement and insight touchpoint. By capturing real-time basket activity, showing running totals and delivering relevant offers during the trip, smart carts can reduce friction for shoppers while giving retailers a clearer view of movement, decision-making and behavior at scale. This visibility enables retailers to design layouts, promotions and experiences based on how customers actually shop, rather than relying solely on aggregated transaction data after the fact.

The company's flagship innovative smart cart solutions are transforming brick-and-mortar retail, bridging online and in-store shopping through interactive technology that guides and informs customers. Cust2Mate's AI-driven smart carts personalize every in-store journey, turning routine trips into engaging, rewarding experiences. They enable seamless in-cart scanning and payment, allowing shoppers to bypass checkout lines while receiving real-time customized offers and product recommendations. This enhanced customer experience boosts satisfaction and loyalty while helping retailers streamline operations and optimize merchandising through data-driven insights.

The carts are equipped with multiple layers of security for accurate recognition and transaction integrity. Its modular, all-in-one detachable panels transform legacy shopping cart fleets into intelligent platforms that deliver a range of benefits. The technology represents a significant shift from traditional retail analytics that focus on what happens at the point of sale to understanding what happens throughout the entire shopping journey. This matters because it addresses a fundamental limitation in retail data collection that has persisted for decades, where the critical moments of decision-making between entering a store and completing a purchase remain largely unmeasured and misunderstood.

For retailers, this means moving beyond assumptions about customer behavior to evidence-based insights that can directly influence store design, product placement, promotional strategies, and inventory management. The implications extend to competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging retail environment where physical stores must justify their existence against the convenience of online shopping. By making the in-store experience more responsive and personalized, smart cart technology could help reverse the trend of declining foot traffic and basket sizes that many traditional retailers face. The technology's ability to capture consent-based data also addresses growing consumer privacy concerns while still providing valuable behavioral insights that were previously inaccessible to retailers operating physical locations.