Seattle retail technology start-up Veeve will see its smart carts deployed at a few dozen Albertsons stores across the USA.

Once launched later this year, consumers will be able to use the smart carts to skip the checkout queue with a fast and contactless way to shop.

The smart carts offer a more personalised shopping experience enabled by a touch screen that provides a running total for in-cart items and a built-in scale for easy produce purchase. The tech-enhanced carts will also integrate with the Albertsons for U loyalty programme. Once done shopping, customers can complete payment on their cart and walk out, completely skipping the checkout queue.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Albertsons to deliver a personalised in-store shopping experience,” said Shariq Siddiqui, Veeve’s CEO. “This deployment is an important and inevitable next step in connecting the consumer’s ecommerce activity with a totally new, digitally driven in-store shopping experience. Working with Albertsons, we are building a link between multiple consumer channels and the brands they trust while keeping customer loyalty central to the experience.”

Albertsons is a food and drug retailer in the USA that operates 2276 stores with 1722 pharmacies, 402 associated fuel centres, 22 dedicated distribution centres and 20 manufacturing facilities.

“Veeve smart carts offer a sophisticated, yet simple self-checkout experience for people who value flexibility and time savings,” said Alyse Wuson, senior director at Albertsons. “Our goal is to enhance the grocery experience no matter how our guests choose to shop, and Veeve’s technology brings the ease and integration of ecommerce right to the grocery cart.”

The smart carts are powered by computer vision and deploy seamlessly into existing stores with no additional retrofit required. The platform integrates with existing retailer mobile apps and ad networks.

Albertsons operates stores across 34 states and the district of Columbia with 24 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market.