Study Finds AI Shopping Cart Users Spend 32 Percent More Money

Illustration of digital shopping based on technology. The study found that AI-based shopping cart users recorded spending 32 percent more money than regular cart users. Illustration photo: Pexels.

JAKARTA - Users of an artificial intelligence (AI) based shopping cart spend an average of 32 percent more than those who use a regular cart, according to a new study.

CNET quoted Friday, August 14, saying the findings came from a study by Bayes Business School, City St. George's, University of London, which used data on shopping visits at a supermarket chain in Germany.

Researchers recorded 12,418 visits over one month. In 9,422 visits, consumers chose to use a shopping cart equipped with an AI-based smart screen.

As a result, smart cart users buy 25 percent more items and spend 23 percent more time in the store.

"Smart cart users in our data spend more, buy more, and stay longer in stores than those who don't use them," said the study's lead author Sabrina Gottschalk to CNET via email.

The screen on the smart cart can give product recommendations, show the location of goods in the store, and display a digital shopping list.

The technology can help consumers shop more easily or quickly. However, researchers also see the potential for the screen to be used to direct consumers to certain promotions or products.

One way is called digital nudging, which is a digital design that encourages users to make certain choices.

There are also dark patterns, which are design patterns that deliberately direct users to options that benefit the company, for example, buying goods or submitting personal data.

For example, the "buy" button is made much larger than the "cancel" button. Consumers can also be made difficult to complete transactions if they do not provide personal information for marketing purposes.

The use of smart screens on shopping carts is still rare in US supermarkets. However, its implementation is beginning to grow.

Instacart and Weis Markets supermarket chain in Pennsylvania in June began introducing an AI-based "Caper Cart" in a number of stores and plans to expand its use this year.

The study also looked at a group called "super users", which are consumers who interact with the screen more than 20 times.

They buy a lot more stuff and stay in stores longer. However, the money they spend is no bigger than the average consumer.

Researchers assessed that pattern could indicate that some super users are "hedonistic spenders", i.e. people who enjoy shopping and using smart screens as part of the experience.

When their interaction with the screen reached its highest level, this group actually started buying fewer items and spending less money.

According to the researcher, the use of screens as entertainment can have an impact that the retailer does not want.

Although smart cart users recorded spending more money, Gottschalk emphasized that the study did not prove that AI-based carts were the cause.

"One important thing is that even though we find this pattern consistently in the data, we cannot prove a causal relationship," he said.

According to Gottschalk, consumers who choose to use smart shopping carts from the beginning may be different from those who choose ordinary carts.