The CONCIERGE shopping system attaches directly to the push handle of Bloom shopping carts and will offer guests such helpful features and information as a product-finder, in-store specials, recipes and how-to tips.

The CONCIERGE shopping system also provides retailers with knowledge and insights on shopper behavior and preferences to enable them to more effectively personalize the in-store experience, increase customer satisfaction and improve marketing initiatives.

The system can be customized, offering such features as:

• A comprehensive store directory and built-in tracking to guide you directly to any product in the store
• Scanning as products are placed in the cart, which automatically checks them off your shopping list and keeps a running total of items and savings
• Faster check-out as products need not be unloaded to a conveyor belt - simply hand your loyalty card to the cashier with any coupons and you're done in seconds
• Access to an extensive database of recipes and meal-planning suggestions, with automatic addition of all ingredients to your shopping list after selecting a recipe
• A navigation system that recognizes a customer's unique shopping pattern to make recommendations based on prior or complementary purchases, allowing retailers to increase basket-size and revenue
• The delivery of targeted, personalized and relevant advertising to customers
• Software management tools to integrate customer data, such as statistics on buying habits, lifestyle and time spent in-store, into retailer business intelligence systems

Call me cynical, but it just sounds like another way for retailers to gather information about our buying habits. It will not only track the actual purchases you make, it will also monitor how long you dwell in front of certain products and what path you take through the store.

Source: Springboard Networks