Don’t Just Fill Your Fridge, Shop From a New Samsung Model With a MasterCard App

You thought your refrigerator was just for storing and cooling your food? Think again. MasterCard Inc. says it has introduced the first app that lets a consumer buy groceries from a refrigerator. The app is preloaded into Samsung’s new, high-tech Family Hub refrigerator that features a 21.5-inch touchscreen as well as cameras inside that monitor the contents.

Samsung, the South Korea-based electronics giant, and MasterCard announced the products Tuesday at the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the nation’s premier venue for unveiling new household devices and services. The Family Hub is the newest example of the so-called Internet of Things, the term for Internet-connected devices and software that monitor and control all manner of household devices—everything from kitchen appliances to thermostats to door locks and security cameras.

The Family Hub will be available in the U.S. in May. The Cnet news service is reporting that the refrigerator costs $5,000 and supports a number of other apps. Samsung has introduced other Internet-connected refrigerators before, but so far they haven’t been much of a hit, according to Cnet.

Using the “Groceries by MasterCard” app, a consumer can develop an electronic grocery list to order food from FreshDirect LLC, a delivery and pick-up service in the New York City and Philadelphia areas, and ShopRite, a cooperative that has more than 250 stores in the Northeast. The grocers will deliver food themselves and won’t use third parties, MasterCard says.

Consumers complete a purchase by entering a four-digit PIN after compiling their grocery list on the touchscreen. MasterCard says purchases can be charged to any U.S.-issued credit or debit card.

The app will remember the consumer’s orders and make suggestions for future purchases of items and brands, according to MasterCard. Also coming are recipes and video integration. Consumers can even speak to the Family Hub to access recipes and create shopping lists through embedded voice technology from Nuance Communications Inc.

“In a world where every device, from the phone to the refrigerator, is connected to the Internet, the ways in which consumers interact and transact with their favorite brands are changing,” Betty DeVita, chief commercial officer at MasterCard’s MasterCard Labs unit, said in a news release. “We’re developing compelling, safe and seamless commerce experiences for consumers across channels and devices as we continue to eliminate the boundaries between how we shop and how we pay.”

MasterCard also has developed a companion mobile app for Groceries by MasterCard that will allow family members to add items to a single order through the device of their choice. Consumers also will be able to scan product bar codes.

After rollout with FreshDirect and ShopRite, more grocers will be connected to the ordering service through MasterCard’s partnership with MyWebGrocer, which provides e-commerce and digital-marketing services to more than 130 grocers worldwide and more than 500 major consumer packaged goods brands.