RFID-Enabled Automated Billing System For Retail Establishments

This paper proposes an approach to equip shopping carts with IoT devices to enhance the user experience and boost sales, thereby increasing store profits. The billing counter is usually the most crowded spot in the store and gets even worse during the holidays. As a result, people get frustrated waiting in long queues for an indefinite amount of time. They may even avoid visiting crowded shops, which results in a considerable loss to the businesses. To overcome this problem, our proposed system makes the billing process more accessible. It makes it easier for the customers to view the products, their quantity, and the total amount to be paid. The shopping cart or trolley will be equipped with a small canister enclosing NodeMCU and various sensors, such as an RFID reader, load sensor, and buzzer. The NodeMCU is placed and connected with these sensors to eschew the common difficulties faced by businesses. Each product in the store is equipped with an RFID sticker. When the products are dropped inside the cart, they get scanned by the RFID reader, and all the information about the item is sent to the company’s server by the NodeMCU present. The authentication process regarding the product is done, and the filtered information is sent to the smart cart Mobile app. The scanned products can be viewed by the customers in the app. The app shows the total amount, the items selected, and their quantity. This solution saves a considerable amount of time and allows the customers to know the amount to be paid beforehand so that they can be prepared with cash to pay at the billing counter, or they can opt to pay through the app’s payment page, which connects with the store’s existing payment page.