SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Instacart is looking for new avenues to get around the barriers of traditional retail, it seems. According to a report by Fast Company, the grocery shopping service has filed a patent for a mobile self-checkout system that would allow shoppers to bypass in-store checkouts.

“An online shopping concierge service allows shoppers to purchase items on behalf of customers and checkout using a mobile application, circumventing traditional point-of-sale check-out systems,” the patent reads. “A customer places an order using a mobile application or website associated with the online shopping concierge service. The online shopping concierge service charges a payment instrument of the customer in the value of the selected items.”

Through the proposed tech, Instacart is looking to create a faster way to deliver, according to Fast Company. When using a yet-to-be-created mobile app, Instacart shoppers would be able to fulfill orders without having to stand in line with shoppers to make purchases. The patent also would provide another method that allows Instacart shoppers to make the purchase via their app, then get a code that they can scan at checkout that verifies the purchase.

“The system transmits the order to a shopper, who receives an order for fulfillment on a mobile device,” the patent continues. “The shopper collects and scans items using a mobile application. The mobile application transmits an identification of the items for purchase and their total cost to the online shopping concierge service, which transmits payment to the retailer. Alternatively, the mobile application encodes an identification of the items for purchase into an encoded image, which is scanned by a cashier, allowing the shopper to complete an accelerated check-out.”

Joining the likes of Amazon’s cashier-less store, Amazon Go, will non-traditional checkout systems be the next big wave in retail innovation? AndNowUKnow will continue to bring you the latest updates.

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