Aldi Süd trials Caper smart shopping carts in Austrian store with test set to run until end of year

Aldi Süd is testing out a smart shopping trolley from Caper, which was acquired by Instacart in 2021, at its Austrian country unit HOFER Österreich.

This has been taking place in Sattledt (HOFER’s headquarters) since 1st July.

Products are scanned via the shopping cart. Users can select a product on the screen, which will then be weighed in the shopping cart and the price calculated. They then pay at a screen at the exit.

Products can be removed, by scanning them out.

15 Caper carts are available for use, with the trial set to run until 31st December.

Dr. Christian Bock

Dr. Christian Bock is joining Aldi Süd in August where, he says in a LinkedIn post, he is “looking forward to taking the customer experience and shopping experience to the next level together with my new colleagues”.

He was previously at Aldi Nord where he held the position of Team Lead Store Computer Vision.

He took on that role earlier this year, having previously been Team Lead Self-Service Checkout & Cashless Payment at the retailer.

In a LinkedIn post, Bock said: “The focus is on the strategic and innovative orientation in connection with technology and business.”

“The aim is to continue to position Aldi Süd as an innovative and future oriented market leader and to offer customers a unique and unforgettable shopping experience. I and we will give everything together for this.”

He added: “I am convinced that we can achieve an enormous amount through close cooperation and the joint use of state-of-the-art technologies and the maximum business focus in combination with the best possible processes.”

“I am looking forward to the new challenges and the exciting task of shaping the future of shopping together with the new colleagues at Aldi Süd.”

New job title TBC.