NYC’s Westside Market Deploys Scan-and-Go Checkout

Amazon might be blazing the path for automatic checkouts in the food retail space, but other grocers are also making their own advances. New York City’s family-owned Westside Market provides the latest example of that.

Tiliter, which sells product recognition technology, and FutureProof Retail (FPR), a provider of line-free mobile checkout solutions, have partnered to deploy what they call the first self-service scale with product recognition integrated with scan and go in the United States.

The first integration has been deployed in New York City's Westside Market. More U.S. supermarkets will follow this year, the New York-based vendors said.

The technology enables customers to use their smartphones to scan and bag items while they're shopping. They can then pay by phone and skip the lines at checkout.

FPR's mobile platform seamlessly integrates with the Tiliter Scan&Go Scale that assists shoppers in adding weight items such as produce and bulk foods to their shopping baskets. Instead of entering a PLU number, Tiliter's software automatically identifies the item and shows a barcode on the screen that the customer can simply scan with FPR's scan-and-go app.

The technology is powered by Tiliter Vision Software, which uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to recognize any product without a barcode, including fresh produce, mixed nuts, dried fruit, candy, bulk and bakery items. Shoppers don't need to manually search for the desired items or enter a PLU, which ensures a contactless and hygienic checkout experience.

Since COVID-19, deployment of scan-and-go technology in supermarkets has increased significantly. Many retailers, such as New York City's Fairway Market, incorporated FPR's mobile checkout application as part of the grocer's shopper safety recommendations to its customers. Since the campaign, Fairway has noted a more than 300% increase in scan- and-go app adoption. 

"Tiliter's Scan&Go Scale, with its powerful AI makes, FPR's already easy and frictionless solution even easier by enabling automatic recognition of products, dramatically reducing time spent in-store for shoppers," said Di Di Chan, president of FutureProof Retail.