I have the seen the future of shopping, and I’m not sure I like it.
Hey, I’m all for shaving big bucks off my grocery bill (in an upcoming issue of ShopSmart, we’ll be telling you how to dig up coupons for nearly everything you buy.) So when my local Stop & Shop supermarket introduced hand-held scanners that alert you to in-store specials and ring up purchases as you shop, I flexed my trigger finger and tried one.
Learning to use it wasn't easy. It took a couple of false starts before I realized I needed to press the yellow button to scan an item. And when I touched the screen to see in-store specials, I couldn’t figure out how to return to the list of items I’d bought. A loud “ka-ching” sound, which erupted occasionally to remind me about sale items, got annoying.
Still, seeing a running total as I shopped was great for budgeting. And it was easy to subtract an item if I changed my mind: I simply pressed the “remove” button, rescanned the item, and put it back on the shelf.
At the end of my shopping trip, I pointed the device at a bar code displayed by the cash registers. I redeemed a few coupons, paid with my debit card, and rolled out of the store.
If all this sounds like a lot of work, it is. But there’s something else going on. One of the system’s selling points is that stores can monitor my movements through a WiFi network that pinpoints where the device is. In the dairy section, for example, my scanner beeped to show sales on cream cheese and orange juice. That’s a little creepy. I’m not 100 percent comfortable with being tracked, especially since the device knows exactly who I am (my frequent-shopper card is already loaded into it).
Is it worth it? Granted, the gizmo was fun to use and helped me keep tabs on my spending. But next time, I think I’ll shop the old-fashioned way and let the checkout clerk do the work.
Oddjob
12:44:52 PM on Tue Mar 10 2009
I really like the self-scan system. It not only keeps my kid entertained, it lets him help with shopping, which is more fun than being wheeled around on its own. It's also a HUGE benefit that I don't get stuck in the checkout aisle for a long time, with the lure of candy and the sleaze of tabloids. I can also use an express lane, even with a cart full of stuff, since I'm only doing one thing. Self-scanning has pretty much turned us from Shaw's shoppers into Stop & Shop customers.
On my wish list: When I activate the scanner, ask me if I want to place the deli order I place nearly every time I'm there. I could press a button on the scanner, and wait for the notice when the order is ready.
It would be even more fun if I could use the Stop and Shop Web site to compile a shopping list which automatically loaded into the scanner and guided me through the store.