Israeli smart shopping cart innovator A2Z Cust2Mate has formed an AI and business insights division to accelerating the development and deployment of AI capabilities across the company’s smart cart platform.

The move comes as Cust2Mate prepares for the widespread rollout of its smart carts and adoption of its retail media practice.

The division will report directly to chief technology officer Elkana Porag, who brings decades of executive experience leading technology innovation, strategy and digital transformation. Porag previously founded n-Join research, an early adopter of neural networks startup, and is an alumni of Deloitte’s consulting arm, Deloitte Monitor. He will oversee the development of AI applications integrated into the Cust2Mate smart cart ecosystem.

This move is designed to accelerate AI capabilities across Cust2Mate’s product suite, ensuring a seamless and intelligent shopping experience for retailers and consumers.

“This new division marks a significant milestone for Cust2Mate,” said Porag. “By harnessing the power of modern state-of-the-art generative AI, we are poised to deliver unprecedented levels of personalisation, retail media opportunities and operational efficiency to our retail partners, their customers and all stake holders in the retail industry.”

The division will focus on the following core applications, all proposed to be embedded within the Cust2Mate (www.cust2mate.com) smart cart platform:

• Shopping experience personalisation: Leveraging generative AI and proprietary neural networks, the platform will enable real-time personalisation of shopping journeys, enhancing shopper engagement.
• Tailored retail media: Using the advantages of the omnichannel in-store and online shopper journey, enabled by the Cust2mate smart cart platform, to offer tailored, personalised, time and place specific content, promotions and advertisements to each shopper.
• Fraud and shrinkage mitigation: An AI-driven fraud detection engine will use multiple sensors and data sources to reduce shrinkage, effectively identifying and managing suspicious activities and honest mistakes.
• Products and events identification: Computer vision AI will recognise and verify products, as well as monitor changes to the cart’s contents, enhancing accuracy and security at every step.
• Store operations optimisation: By analysing anonymised data, the division will deliver actionable business and operational insights, optimising store layout, promotions, pricing and assortment to increase efficiency and profitability.

The division aims to transform how retailers understand and serve their customers by combining machine learning, computer vision and data analytics into a comprehensive intelligence platform that benefits shoppers and retailers as well as CPGs and other stakeholders.

A2Z Cust2Mate’s AI-driven smart carts personalise every in-store journey, turning routine trips into engaging, rewarding experiences. They enable seamless in-cart scanning and payment, allowing shoppers to bypass checkout queues while receiving real-time customised offers and product recommendations. This enhanced customer experience boosts satisfaction and loyalty while helping retailers streamline operations and optimise merchandising through data-driven insights. The carts are equipped with multiple layers of security for accurate recognition and transaction integrity. Modular, all-in-one detachable panels transform legacy shopping cart fleets into intelligent platforms that deliver a range of benefits.