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Stop & Shop scans its way into future
From The Norwalk Hour, December 25,
2008
By Chris Bosak
Imagine being able to scan and bag your grocery items as you work your
way around the food store, leaving only a quick payment at the end of
the shopping trip. Now add to this futuristic shopping experience a few
suggestions on sale items personally catered to your own past shopping
habits.
The future is now at Stop and Shop's Main Avenue location in Norwalk as
the grocery store chain introduced Scan It! technology to its
customers. Upon entering the store, customers have the option of using
a hand-held scanner to scan items as they shop. After swiping a Stop
and Shop loyalty card, the scanner will suggest sale items based on the
customer's past purchases.
"There's an incredible demand for technology," Steve Young, senior
project manager for self-service technology at Stop and Shop, said.
"We're always looking for ways to make the shopping experience a little
easier. That's what we're trying to do."
When finished shopping customers return to a Scan It! kiosk to complete
the transaction. In addition to other security measures, the system
will select random orders for review.
"That's one of the most common questions we get: How do you know
(customers are being honest)," Young said. "There's security built into
the system and we do random checks. You always have a balance of
convenience of security. It's something we consider when we develop
these technologies."
Stop and Shop also recently introduced self-scan cashier lanes to its
stores. Young said the Scan It! technology is more convenient for large
orders because customers can bag their groceries as they shop.
"It's simple and has a low learning curve for customers," Young said.
"We've had very positive feedback."
Full Story: The Norwalk
Hour
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