Colruyt Lowest Prices first retailer to introduce customers to a self-developed ‘Smart Cart’, a Belgian first

Tuesday, September 16, 2025At the Colruyt Lowest Prices store in Halle, customers can now easily do bulk shopping with a smart trolley. Colruyt Group is the first retailer in Belgium to introduce a self-scanning trolley based on AI and smart sensors to optimise the in-store shopping experience. This innovative way of shopping enables customers to do their groceries more efficiently, keep control of their budget and check out smoothly without the assistance of a cashier. The self-scanning trolley is a Belgian first and another step towards the store of the future. Colruyt Group is evolving further as a phygital retailer, maximising the interaction between physical stores and digital solutions.

An innovative milestone for an optimal shopping experience

Colruyt Group is heavily investing in the digitalisation of its stores, aiming to respond to customer needs in a rapidly changing world. The introduction of the smart trolley is a new milestone within Colruyt Group’s innovation track. After an extensive test phase of the self-developed Smart Cart, the Group is now ready to let customers experience this technological breakthrough. For customers, the benefits are clear: time savings, control and even greater efficiency.

How the Smart Cart works

The customer activates the Smart Cart with Xtra and starts shopping. The shopping list in the Xtra app appears on the trolley’s display. The smart trolley scans product barcodes and updates the Xtra shopping list during the trip. Discounts are applied immediately upon scanning. Returning a product to the shelf is easy: the Smart Cart asks which product was put back and the customer removes it via the trolley’s interface. “Through smart sensors and artificial intelligence, the trolley checks correct registration and product weight. Customers no longer need to keep track of what has been scanned. The trolley display shows the total bill, so nothing is forgotten,” says Jo Willemyns, COO Retail at Colruyt Group and General Manager Colruyt Lowest Prices. “For loose products without a barcode, such as fruit and vegetables, customers can use the Smart Scale in store. At the end of the shopping trip, payment is made at a Smart Checkout. Payment methods include Bancontact and Payconiq. Since the trolley is specially designed for bulk shopping, customers can place products directly into folding boxes and easily transfer them into the car thanks to the trolley’s open sides. That’s how efficient it can be!” adds Willemyns.

Customers in control of their trolley

At Colruyt Lowest Prices, our aim is to assist customers at checkout in an efficient, accurate and service-oriented way. With the Smart Cart, customers are offered a powerful and secure option to shop even more efficiently and check out independently.

"We believe customers should have the choice between different checkout options. With the self-scanning trolley, we want to meet the needs of a specific group of customers who wish to shop more efficiently and benefit from the advantages that digitalisation can bring to the shopping experience. We give these customers the possibility to scan their groceries immediately and pay at the ‘Smart Checkout’,” continues Willemyns. “We will gradually increase the number of trolleys to make this option available to even more customers,” he adds.

The current checkouts continue to offer many advantages in terms of service and customer contact. That is why ‘Easy Checkout’, the cashier system using artificial intelligence and offering more ergonomics for employees, as well as the traditional checkouts, will certainly not disappear at Colruyt. “We will continue to serve most of our customers in this way,” Willemyns concludes.

Developed by our own innovation team

At Colruyt Group, we opt for a clear, no-nonsense approach. Efficiency and service are central. “The smart trolley is robust and specially developed for bulk shopping. It has two levels without side walls, so that folding boxes can be transferred efficiently into the car. It is designed with maximum focus on efficient shopping, with the use of boxes at the heart. ​ The ‘Smart Cart’ combines computer vision algorithms and smart sensors. A great deal of electronics is integrated into the trolley, including a special chip enabling AI models to run in real time on every trolley. By applying edge computing, we can process all data in real time without depending on a cloud connection, which improves speed and protects privacy,” explains Max Van Sande, Project Manager of the Smart Cart.

“With this 'Smart Cart', we make shopping easier for the customer and avoid small mistakes leading to an incorrect receipt. The Smart Scale in our fresh market recognises fruit and vegetables using an AI algorithm. This AI model has also been trained to recognise products even when placed in reusable bags. In more than 98% of cases, we can immediately suggest the correct product, saving customers time.

The Smart Cart was developed by Colruyt Group Technics, Colruyt Group’s innovation team, in collaboration with EXPRESSO. This project was also realised with the valued support of VLAIO. The joint development is a decisive step towards the future of shopping: the innovative Smart Cart combines Colruyt Group’s leading expertise in computer vision with EXPRESSO’s leading position in developing and producing advanced mechatronic systems with patented weighing technology. The result is a trolley that provides customers with a seamless, intuitive and efficient experience – a true game-changer in retail. “This collaboration over the past months has been a highly rewarding journey,” says Dr Alexander Bünz, CEO of EXPRESSO. “By working closely with the Colruyt Group team, we were able to combine their expertise in retail and computer vision with our own experience in retail based on unique and highly successful solutions. Together, we developed a solution that is not only technically advanced but also genuinely customer focused.”