Kenyan retailer unveils motorised shopping trolleys

Nairobi – Supermarket chain Nakumatt Holdings has unveiled a fleet of motorised shopping trolleys for the benefit of the physically disabled and senior citizen shoppers on a pilot basis. The new trolleys, which feature a motor engine on a wheeled shopping trolley, will be available at five of the 19 Nakumatt branches on a trial basis.

The trolleys will be available for the customers use at no charge and are currently on test at Nakumatt Mega, Westgate, Ngong Road, Junction and The Village market – branches located in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Previously, the retailer had to create wheelchair ramps and provide wheelchairs.

Thiagarajan Ramamurthy, the group's Operations Director, says the introduction of the trolleys is in line with the firm's commitment to make the firm's hypermarkets conducive to shopping for all people including physically disabled and elderly shoppers. Another initiative is introducing wheelchair ramps along staircases. “We are conscious of the needs of the elderly and physically disabled and we are therefore adopting innovative customer care solutions to make their shopping experience more ideal,” Ramamurthy said.

The introduction of the motorised trolleys is also part of the supermarket chain's plan to entrench the use of assistive shopping devices in line with fast evolving global trends.

Late last year, Nakumatt holdings trail blazed the introduction of assistive shopping devices with the launch of their Lifestyle catalogue. The retailer plans to launch another assistive shopping tool in the form of an online shopping portal. Increasingly, European retailers are embracing assistive devices for shopping which include the Internet and catalogues.