Methods and apparatuses are provided for use in monitoring product placement within a shopping facility. Some embodiments provide an apparatus configured to determine product placement conditions within a shopping facility, comprising: a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive communications; a product monitoring control circuit coupled with the transceiver; a memory coupled with the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to: obtain a composite three-dimensional (3D) scan mapping corresponding to at least a select area of the shopping facility and based on a series of 3D scan data; evaluate the 3D scan mapping to identify multiple product depth distances; and identify, from the evaluation of the 3D scan mapping, when one or more of the multiple product depth distances is greater than a predefined depth distance threshold from the reference offset distance of the product support structure.

Exemplary embodiments of a method of authentication of a food product, such as an animal (land or sea) or produce can be provided. The method can comprise tagging a food product with a unique code, obtaining an image of the food product contemporaneous with the tagging, recording vital information associated with the food product, the vital information including one or more of the image of the food product, a date and time the food product was tagged, a weight of the food product, a location the food product was obtained and a type of the food product, uploading the vital information to a computer server, and associating the vital information with the unique code so that the vital information is specific to each food product.

Exemplary embodiments of a method of authentication of a food product, such as an animal (land or sea) or produce can be provided. The method can comprise tagging a food product with a unique code, obtaining an image of the food product contemporaneous with the tagging, recording vital information associated with the food product, the vital information including one or more of the image of the food product, a date and time the food product was tagged, a weight of the food product, a location the food product was obtained and a type of the food product, uploading the vital information to a computer server, and associating the vital information with the unique code so that the vital information is specific to each food product.

Some embodiments include a motorized transport unit providing customer assistance at a shopping facility, comprises: a transceiver; a control circuit; a motorized wheel system; a lift system; and a memory coupled to the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to: activate a motorized wheel system, while continuing to monitor location information, to position the motorized transport unit under the item container and aligned, based on the location information, relative to a frame of the item container; and activate the lift system to lift on the frame of the item container lifting a first portion of the item container such one or more wheels of the item container are lifted off of a floor while two or more other wheels of the item container remain in contact with the floor.

Some embodiments include a track system comprising: an elevated track system comprising a series of elevated tracks that are positioned elevated above a sales floor and products distributed over at least a portion of the sales floor of a retail store, and configured such that multiple motorized transport units travel along the series of elevated tracks in traversing at least portions of the retail store.

Some embodiments include a track system comprising: an elevated track system comprising a series of elevated tracks that are positioned elevated above a sales floor and products distributed over at least a portion of the sales floor of a retail store, and configured such that multiple motorized transport units travel along the series of elevated tracks in traversing at least portions of the retail store.

Some embodiments provide apparatuses and methods useful to providing control over movement of motorized transport units. In some embodiments, an apparatus providing control over movement of motorized transport units at a shopping facility comprises: a central computer system comprising: a transceiver; a control circuit; a memory coupled to the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to perform the steps of: obtain, from one or more of the communications received from the motorized transport unit, route condition information comprising information corresponding to an intended route of travel; obtain additional route condition information detected by one or more detectors external to the motorized transport unit; detect an object affecting the intended route of travel; identify an action to be taken by the motorized transport unit with respect to the detected object; and communicate one or more instructions.

Some embodiments provide apparatuses and methods useful to providing control over movement of motorized transport units. In some embodiments, an apparatus providing control over movement of motorized transport units at a shopping facility comprises: a central computer system comprising: a transceiver; a control circuit; a memory coupled to the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to perform the steps of: obtain, from one or more of the communications received from the motorized transport unit, route condition information comprising information corresponding to an intended route of travel; obtain additional route condition information detected by one or more detectors external to the motorized transport unit; detect an object affecting the intended route of travel; identify an action to be taken by the motorized transport unit with respect to the detected object; and communicate one or more instructions.

A twist-tie dispenser comprises a twist-tie cluster and a base. The base includes a top portion, a rear wall extending downward from the top portion, and an open front. A latching structure for removably mounting the base to a fixture is defined at least in part by a first hook-like extension protruding from the rear wall of the base, the first hook-like extension defining a pocket formed by an upper stop surface and a vertical retention surface, the latching structure also defined at least in part by a flexible portion of the rear wall that is configured to elastically deflect through a cut-out provided on the rear wall in a direction from the rear wall toward the open front when a rod-like mounting structure of the fixture is inserted into the pocket of the first hook-like extension, the flexible portion also defining a lower stop surface that opposes the upper stop surface of the first hook-like extension when the rod-like mounting structure is within the pocket and is captured between the lower stop surface and the upper stop surface.

A twist-tie dispenser comprises a twist-tie cluster and a base. The base includes a top portion, a rear wall extending downward from the top portion, and an open front. A latching structure for removably mounting the base to a fixture is defined at least in part by a first hook-like extension protruding from the rear wall of the base, the first hook-like extension defining a pocket formed by an upper stop surface and a vertical retention surface, the latching structure also defined at least in part by a flexible portion of the rear wall that is configured to elastically deflect through a cut-out provided on the rear wall in a direction from the rear wall toward the open front when a rod-like mounting structure of the fixture is inserted into the pocket of the first hook-like extension, the flexible portion also defining a lower stop surface that opposes the upper stop surface of the first hook-like extension when the rod-like mounting structure is within the pocket and is captured between the lower stop surface and the upper stop surface.