Scallix Inc. has announced a partnership with Cust2Mate that will bring Cust2Mate’s AI-powered smart shopping carts to Canada, with Scallix acting as the company’s Canadian representative. While the technology is aimed primarily at grocery and big-box retail, it’s still worth paying attention to from a vending and automated retail standpoint.
At a high level, Cust2Mate’s smart carts use many of the same technologies already showing up in modern vending machines and smart coolers: item recognition, cashless payment, shopper data, and digital promotions. In that sense, smart carts aren’t a radical departure, they’re another form of unattended or low-labour retail built on familiar tools.
Scallix’s role is to localize and support the platform in Canada. Scallix Inc. is already active in smart retail and automation, including smart coolers and autonomous retail, so the partnership fits with the broader direction of the market rather than introducing something entirely new.
For vending operators, this isn’t about smart carts replacing vending machines. It’s about changing expectations. Large retailers and institutional clients are increasingly comparing all automated retail options side by side — vending, micro markets, smart coolers, and now cart-based systems. Data, reporting, and measurable ROI are becoming just as important as the machine itself.
Cust2Mate’s platform also highlights a trend vending operators are already seeing: growing interest in retail media, targeted promotions, and shopper analytics. These same ideas are now being pushed through vending machine screens and smart coolers, reinforcing that the future of vending is as much about data and digital engagement as product sales.
Bottom line: the Scallix–Cust2Mate partnership doesn’t disrupt the vending industry, but it does underline where things are heading. Vending operators who are already investing in modern equipment, cashless systems, and better reporting are aligned with this shift. Those who aren’t may find themselves competing against more than just the machine down the hall.
You can read the official press release here: https://www.scallix.ai/