Whether by Design or Happenstance, New Shopper Technologies Augur the End of the Checkout
At the National Retail’s Federation’s 97th annual convention at the Javits Center in NYC this week, various new shopper technologies are on display. They are meant to: speed trips through the store, subject customers to just-in-time ad messages (say for deli cheese, once they’ve dropped sliced turkey into their carts) and increase sales per trip, of course. Many of these technologies have something in common: they elmininate (or truncate and transform) the checkout experience. On the heels of successful test in Pittsburgh, Motorola plans to introduce a $900 consumer scanner — the MC-17 — into 90 Stop and Shop Supermarkets in the northeast that will allow customers to scan and bag while they walk the aisles. As technologist and trend-spotter Michael Tchong put it, “In an information economy, a strategic advantage is moving data 15 percent faster, and the same model applies for retailing.” The Cincinnati Enquirer (Jan. 14, 2008)
Tags: Convention, Kroger, Motorola, National Retail Federation, shopper technology, Stop and Shop