Walmart has applied for a patent for a smart shopping cart that can track a shopper’s heart rate, temperature, grip and walking speed.
Such a system would provide valuable information about how shoppers respond to different stores, it said.
The patent shows shopping cart fitted with sensors that sends data over the internet to Walmart’s servers.
Walmart said it would not collect any personally identifiable data.
The patent, published in August, is titled “System and Method for a Biometric Feedback Cart Handle”.
Walmart said that the internet-connected shopping carts would be useful “for alerting store associates that a customer may need assistance“.
It described how the trolley would start collecting data when a customer starts using it and stop when it is no longer in use.
