Physical shopping cart having features for use in customer checkout of items placed into the shopping cart

A shopping cart for use in a retail environment, the shopping cart comprising:

• a basket with a bottom surface and sidewalls that, collectively, define a cavity to receive and retain goods, wherein the basket includes an opening defined by an upper perimeter of the sidewalls;
• a plurality of proximity sensors that are attached to the basket at or near the upper perimeter of the sidewalls, wherein the plurality of proximity sensors are configured to detect items being placed into or removed out of the basket;
• a plurality of cameras that are attached to the basket at or near the upper perimeter of the sidewalls, wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to capture images of the items as the items are being placed into or removed out of the basket;
• and
• a controller that is configured to identify the items based on the images captured by the plurality of cameras and to update a virtual shopping cart based on the identification of the items,
• wherein at least a portion of the plurality of cameras and at least a portion of the plurality of proximity sensors are provided as a camera and proximity sensor pair in a common housing attached to the basket at or near the upper perimeter of the sidewalls.