What makes Light Saver revolutionary

is that by transforming a shopping cart’s handle, which seemingly carries the highest risk of viral transmission,

into a germicidal device instead that kills virus on the spot

it revamped a shopping cart into an item with entirely different capacities,

while still maintaining the configuration of existing shopping carts.

While maintaining its germicidal power, it utilizes light rays of a new wavelength,

which is harmless to human body.

People are overwhelmed by the omnipresent danger of virus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

However, as grocery and household items need to be seen and checked in person before their purchase,

customers often resort to visiting the grocery store despite the reluctance.

Therefore, EMART, Korea’s leading in-person grocery store chain,

needed an original idea in shopping that allows customers to come shop with peace of mind,

yet does not interfere with their shopping experience.

We thought that if shopping cart handle, which might be laden with various viruses,

can be revamped into a tool for eliminating viruses,

we would not have to require extra inconvenient measures and actions from customers

to give them a sense of security.

So, EMART invents unheard-of shopping cart.

LIGHT SAVER with its design that resembles lightsabers in the movie “Star Wars” and disinfects the hands and cart handles throughout shopping time by emitting germicidal rays that are harmless to human body.

development time ine

Design Date: 09/04/2020 to 09/25/2020

Production Start Date: October 6, 2020

Final production date: November 13, 2020

Installation date in the mart: November 16, 2020

Date of certification by the Ministry of Environment: January 14, 2021

certification

KTR Antimicrobial Performance Test May 26, 2020

KTR Anti-Virus Performance 09/04/2020

Electromagnetic compatibility test: 05/19/2020

In August 2020, during a COVID-19 virucidal testing conducted

by BioPS Center for Biopharmaceutical Safety Validation,

it was confirmed that 99.9% of the virus was eliminated within 60 minutes of exposure to sterilizing rays.

Light Saver is a shopping cart that capitalizes on existing shopping carts as a platform with only their handles replaced.

The design of this cart handle, which evokes Lightsaber of Star Wars,

includes a ray-generating device which kills viruses yet is innocuous to human body.

Numerous lamps that are attached to Light Saver

emits 405 nanometer wavelengths, which falls within the safe range of visible light,

and eliminates a wide range of viruses, including the COVID-19 virus.

Within 10 minutes of usage, Light Saver eradicates more than 90 percent of viruses on the shopping cart handle and the customer’s hands.

Furthermore, it is powered for 12 hours with one portable power bank connected to the cart.

In the comparison of the month when COVID-19 caused a drastic decrease in customer turnout

and in-store shopping time and the month when the campaign was executed,

the most noticeable outcomes included:

11.6% increase in in-store customers

12.7% increase in each customer’s average purchase amount per visit

25.8% sales increase in EMART stores running the campaign

This technology morphs in-person stores vulnerable to viral transmission into a safer space,

and therefore could boost the recovery and growth of the in-person shopping industry.

Not only can the identical technology be replicated in a wide range of formats and applied to various types of stores,

in a longer term, the current production cost of 18 dollars, which is still economical, can be significantly reduced through mass production, which is expected to lead to a higher return for investments.