A brand new device attached to grocery shopping carts aids consumers in making quick, responsible decisions regarding their regular food purchases.
I do not know about most of you, but when I go to the grocery store, I want to get in and get out as quickly as possible. I come armed with my shopping list, a grocery cart, and a memorized diagram of the grocery store in my head, and I get to it. But I am also a conscientious shopper, like I assume many others are. But let’s face it, reading nutrition labels and looking all over the packaging to see if the food is locally sourced takes time, time not all of us have to spend. Yea, sure, I can fumble around with a smartphone app. But I am not very good at scanning bar codes and I am a bit clumsy and tend to drop my phone. And while I could stand there and read labels, a) it takes time and b) it tends to aggravate other shoppers when you stand in the middle of the aisle. Others feel like this? What if you could change it – get all the information you need about healthy foods but still get in and get out of the grocery store quickly?
Say hello to the Lambent Shopping Trolley Handle!
This handle has a 16-LED multicolor display and easily clips right onto any shopping cart. Through the use of different colors and number of lights lit up, smart shoppers can determine if the food item is healthy as well as if it is local or not (the more lights lit up, the higher number of food miles) when they scan the barcode with the handle.
Take a look at this video here:
This is a lot more efficient than reading over every single label or taking out a phone every time to scan a bar code!
The question becomes if this new technology will positively aid in making better food-related decisions at the grocery store. The researchers behind the Lambent Shopping Trolley Handle seem to think so. In one study, researchers sent 18 shoppers in the United Kingdom to a grocery store armed with a shopping list and the handle. When using the device, approximately 72 percent of all purchased products had a lower mean food mileage than those who purchase products with only a normal cart and no help.
Who doesn’t want a smarter, more effective way to shop?!
Want to know about some more interesting and gadgets? Check out this chocolate 3D printer or these seven keyrings that would clearly rival Batman’s utility belt.
