Coles shoppers lose their minds over little-known trolley feature: ‘What in the world?!’

A newly trolley feature at Coles has made grocery shopping more convenient and even ‘fun’ – yet many people are unaware of its existence.

Alessia Allfree and Taz Zammit recently shared a video on TikTok where they took the newly introduced Coles AI-powered Smart Trolleys for a test run – with the stunned content creators captioning the post: ‘WHAT in the WORLD!’.

The Melbourne couple’s ‘robot trolley’ video, which has since been viewed almost 200,000 times, showed them popping into Richmond Traders shopping centre in Victoria, the first Coles store to have introduced the smart trolleys.

‘Today were doing a food shop, and we’re going to test out the robot trolleys,’ Alessia said.

Taz and Alessia, who post under the account @tazandalessia, then proceeded to do their shopping while using the innovative trolley.

The trolley utilises a combination of advanced AI technology, sensors, an in-built scale and an interactive screen, which allows customers to scan groceries directly into their shopping trolley as they go.

This tech also enables shoppers to track their spending in real time on the interactive screen and streamlines the checkout process.

This trolley is free to use – and no app is required.

Coles recently announced the arrival of their new AI-powered Smart Trolleys, which allows customers to scan groceries directly into their trolley as they shop

Alessia Allfree (pictured) and her partner Taz Zammit recently released a TikTok video that demonstrated the Coles Smart Trolley in action

The digital content creators confirmed in their video that it was their ‘first time using a smart trolley’ and that it was easy to set-up, use and manoeuvre.

The couple then proceeded to demonstrate exactly how they scanned their groceries while placing them into their cart, simply by waving them past a sensor panel inside the trolley.

The trolley’s digital screen displayed each item as it was scanned and also made a ‘beep’ sound, akin to a self-checkout register. The item was then added to a running tally of their entire shop.

The interactive screen located next to the the trolley handles additionally displayed the week’s specials and could be used to search for the aisle location of particular products.

Interestingly, Taz inadvertently demonstrated the specials feature when she placed two lemons inside her shopping cart.

After scanning the citrus fruits, the interactive screen prompted Taz about this week’s deal offering four lemons for $4.

‘Ooo, it’s upselling us,’ Taz noted. ‘I’m a sucker for an up sale.’

Once their trolley was loaded with shopping, the ladies simply needed to proceed to a Smart Trolley express lane to complete the check-out process, with the the payment  done on the device attached to the trolley.

The trolley also has a ‘gamification’ feature for Coles app and Flybuys members. At the conclusion of the shop, those who’ve spent a minimum amount will be prompted to ‘Spin the Wheel’ to unlock additional discounts.

The TikTok content creators tested out this feature in their viral video, resulting in them unlocking $2 off their shop.

‘This makes shopping so much more fun. It’s like a game,’ Alessia said.

Coles announced earlier this year that they would be trialling the new smart trolley in their Richmond store, with the goal of offering a unique and convenient new way to shop.

Despite the smart trolley’s multitude of features, Alessia and Taz told Yahoo that very few other shoppers appeared to as yet be using the carts as yet, suggesting there may be hesitation around the new technology.

But after doing their own test run, the social media creators believed it could easily become the new norm.

‘It was better than using the self-checkout,’ they said.

Indeed, the comments section was filled with replies from excited Aussie shoppers eager to get their hands on the smart trolleys.

Melbourne couple Alessia and Taz shared their video trailing the ‘robot trolley’ to their popular TikTok account @tazandalessia

‘I wanna try those trolleys so bad,’ read one reply.

‘Shopping like that would be so addictive,’ added another.

One follower questioned Taz and Alessia about how exactly fresh produce, like fruit and vegetables, are weighed, to which they replied: ‘The trolley weighs it!’

A Coles media release in late 2024 heralded the upcoming arrival of the AI-powered Smart Trolleys, which had been developed in partnership with grocery technology company, Instacart.

Coles Chief Digital Officer Ben Hassing said: ‘As the first retailer in Australia to introduce AI-powered trolleys, we’re excited to offer our customers a convenient and engaging way to shop in-store, helping them save time, manage their budget and checkout faster – or at their own pace.’

‘With cost-of-living pressures top of mind, we’ve found customers especially love the way the digital screen on the trolley helps them to see their running total and manage their budget in real-time along with discovering further discounts,’ Instacart Chief Connected Stores Officer David McIntosh added.

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk