Skip to main content

Wasteless wants to use dynamic pricing to help grocery stores waste less food

Wasteless - Introducing, The Internet of Groceries
It’s the epidemic we’re all aware of, and yet seemingly powerless to stop: wasted food at grocery stores. For every carton of milk or loaf of bread you take home, around $2,300 worth of product is left behind every day. But there’s a new company that’s here to help. Wasteless is the new tech solution behind the so-called “Internet of Groceries” that promises to recapture one billion dollars worth of lost grocery sales every week.

It’s all contingent on what is being described as the world’s first real-time tracking solution for grocery stores, which offers customers variable pricing based on a product’s expiration date. That is to say that a carton of eggs that is set to expire at the end of the week will cost you less than the carton that has until the end of the month. This, Wasteless says, will help supermarkets sell more and waste less.

The platform constantly monitors stock levels, so if stores are running low, management can be alerted, whereas if items have been on the shelf for longer than anticipated, their prices can be automatically reduced. And it does all this by combining item-level RFID sensing, a dynamic pricing engine (which considers 43 factors including supply, demand, location, holidays, and time when calculating a price), and Electronic Shelf Labeling.

“Dynamic pricing is something used daily when booking a flight, a hotel, or an Uber, and there is no reason why our groceries should be different” said Ben Biron, founder and COO of Wasteless. “This is amazing for all stakeholders because it means lower prices for the consumer, more revenue for the supermarket, and of course, it saves our planet by significantly reducing food waste at the retail level, which accounts for 40 percent of the world’s total food waste.”

As it stands, the U.S. grocery industry loses around $57 billion every year. So yes, it most certainly does seem high time for us to waste a bit less. Currently, Wasteless is in trial with a number of retailers, and the company hopes you’ll soon see its technology in a store near you.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
South Korean supermarket chain opens virtual grocery stores in subways

One inventive South Korean supermarket chain is using technology to completely change the way we buy groceries. Noticing that it was a distant second in the grocery store market in Korea, Tesco embarked on an innovative ad campaign to get people to use its online shopping services, reports Technology Review (via Laughing Squid).

The first step: it changed its name to "Home Plus." After the rebranding, it began installing supermarkets inside subway stations. But these weren't actual stores. Instead, Home Plus posted up precise picture recreations of its grocery store isles in areas where pedestrians would normally spend time waiting for their subway train to arrive. Using scannable QR codes and a smartphone app, people could actually buy their groceries from the virtual store and have them delivered to their doorstep by the time they arrive at home. Cool? You betcha.

Read more
Get the AeroGarden Sprout hydroponic indoor garden for $35
aerogarden sprout hydroponic indoor garden deal woot may 2023 promotional render

With the rise of so much smart home tech it can be easy to feel a little disconnected from nature. With the AeroGarden Sprout Hydroponic Indoor Garden you can get the best of both worlds, and it’s discounted to just $35 at Woot! today. This is a really impressive sale price, as the AeroGarden Sprout regularly costs $100. Woot! is including free shipping for Amazon Prime members, but you’ll need to act quickly to claim this deal. It only lasts until midnight or until inventory sells out, whichever comes first.

Why you should buy the AeroGarden Sprout hydroponic indoor garden
AeroGarden makes several gardens that can make themselves right at home if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed in today’s tech world of screens and specs. The AeroGarden Smart Garden, for example, is one of its most popular indoor gardens and we think it’s one of the best indoor smart gardens. The AeroGarden Sprout is a simpler and more affordable indoor garden, and it allows you to grow up to three plants at a time, each of them up to 10 inches tall. It even comes with a gourmet herb seed kit to get you going, which includes Genovese Basil, Curly Parsley, and Dill.

Read more
Get no-stress, hands-free cleaning with LG’s CordZero and save big
LG CordZero all in one stick vacuum with auto empty dock.

This content was produced in partnership with LG Electronics.
Cleaning, or more specifically vacuuming your home, is one of those tasks that can be tedious, and genuinely unenjoyable, and yet we all have to do it. It doesn't matter whether you live in a studio apartment or a single-family home, cleaning is a must to get rid of dust, dirt, and other things you track inside. If you have pets or kids, then you'll also be cleaning up fur, pet dander, and various messes -- maybe even food or snack spills. With the right tools, like LG's All-in-One Cordless Stick Vacuum, the entire process is faster and more convenient.

Available with an auto-empty dock, that both automatically charges the unit between uses and keeps the dustbin free and clear of debris, the CordZero Stick Vacuum is a real game-changer when it comes to keeping any space clean. The unique Kompressor technology compresses dirt and dust, fitting more in the dustbin, and allowing you to clean with less stopping, especially thanks to the extended battery life. Normally $849, you can save 30% when you use promo code VAC30, bringing the price down to $594. Plus, you'll receive a free Total Tool Care kit, which includes several add-ons for the vacuum like a mattress tool, flexible crevice tool -- to get into hard-to-reach places -- and extendable hose. That deal is only valid between May 26 and May 29, so don't waste any time if you're interested.

Read more