Publix grocery stores testing TV Karts

If you want to see cutting-edge technology, but don't have access to, say, a consumer electronics trade show (or this site), just head down to your local grocery store, as we've seen some fairly innovative creations implanted in this most atypical locale. The everyday food market has seen personal shopping assistants, carts that tag along behind you, and an ultra-pimped-out buggy for those who can't leave their flamboyant style aside for even a moment. Most recently, Publix supermarkets have attempted to address an issue that has apparently been nagging grown-ups for years: dealing with kids and maintaining their sanity (and humility) while trying to restock those bare cabinets. By introducing the TV Kart, reportedly shaped like a car and rocking a smallish display, Publix hopes to channel the attention of those rambunctious offspring into a wholesome episode of Bob the Builder, Barney, or The Wiggles. The cart, devised by the New Zealand-based Cabco Group, would cost parents $1.00 to rent while making their rounds, and Publix stores that agreed to offer such transportation would presumably receive royalties from the manufacturer. The kid-controlling carts are stored on "charging mats" while not in use, and though we aren't sure if there will be multiple shows stored for those really long shopping excursions, there's apparently no worry over battery life becoming an issue. Currently, the carts are being tested in five metro Atlanta stores, while stores near the Motor City itself are also showing interest -- but before you plop down your dollar for 30 minutes of peaceful shopping, just remember that all that bottled up energy has to be unleashed eventually.

[Via Fark]

[narco @ Aug 16th 2006 7:43AM]

Not sure if the ones here in L.A. have TV screens, but I've seen some shopping carts like this in the area. They sound like a good idea, but it's hard not to imagine all the homeless people snatching these just like how they snatch all the regular shopping carts. Except these they can actually have a party with.

Fishes,
narco.

[oh please @ Aug 16th 2006 9:16AM]

How long until the first reports of shopping cart accidents because the parent was watching the TV while driving the cart?

[Ed @ Aug 16th 2006 10:31AM]

I'm waiting till these are left outside and a thunderstorm comes rolling in. $15 would almost be worth it to see the manager busting a blood vessel and all his peons scrambling to bring the expensive carts in before the rain hits.

Oh, the chaos and hilarity of it all...

[Mohan @ Aug 16th 2006 10:32AM]

Meijer Hilliard-Rome stores in Columbus OH already have these carts.

[Brandon J. Mendelson @ Aug 16th 2006 11:34AM]

I can't imagine this being any worse than those TVs at the check-out line in some grocery stores, but hey, I'll take the thirty minutes of quiet for a dollar. Can Walmart be far behind?

-Brandon
http://www.thebrandonshow.com

[Splitime @ Aug 16th 2006 11:47AM]

Yah, these carts are not anything new. I saw one in my Local Meijers (bloomindale, IL) over a month ago or more. Also $1 buck and sits by one of the main entrances.

[Zero @ Aug 16th 2006 12:27PM]

Whatever happened to just raising your children to shut the hell up? Honestly, thats how it was back in the day.

[tcc3 @ Aug 16th 2006 1:08PM]

How about a cart with a wireless connection to the inventory database? That way when you cant find something it can tell you where it is. I would settle for a kiosk with this function.

Hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot need this desperately.

Lets use technology for something that will actually improve our lives rather then for something that is at best a toy and at worst a way to push more ads at the shopper.

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 16th 2006 4:44PM]

OK if this a Publix related story, why there's a Tony Stewart Home Depot NASCAR #20 cart shown?. Publix is doing this because they are a higher-end Supermarket. They are mostly located in affluent neighborhoods in Florida where the people are just a bunch of plastics and fakes. Knowing how Publix operates with their not-so-low-prices, I'm surprise they are only charging a $1.00 for this service.

[Daphn @ Sep 1st 2006 12:44PM]

So now your kids can watch TV at home, then watch TV on the car ride to the supermarket, then while you do your shopping, the ride back, and then once again when they get back home. They'll never be without television and you wont ever have to talk to them.
Awesome.