> I think that the scan-as-you-shop style systems are definitely the next realistic step for grocery stores.
Scan-as-you-shop has been around for at least a decade at this point I think, at least in some parts of the world. ICA (supermarket in Sweden) been doing it for as long as I can remember, and I came across this image of the scanner being used at the store on Mediawiki: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Self_checkout_scanne... (Image uploaded 2011)
Surely this exists elsewhere too, or been judged to only work in certain contexts (like a high-trust environment like Sweden) and won't be the next realistic step.
Jup it has been available for a very long time in the Netherlands as well.
When I moved to the UK, what surprised me is that Tesco self check out is so much more cumbersome. It weighs your stuff, stops working when something isn't exactly the right weight. Super annoying to use if you're used to the system used in Sweden and The Netherlands. But that was in stores in the middle of central London, it may be very different in more suburban "big" stores which is where it was first rolled out in NL as well.
I'm not a fan of the data tracking that I know those loyalty programs are for, but at least in the US most stores overcharge you if you don't use them (they present it as giving a "discount" if you use them but really you are just getting the fair price denied to non-members) so you would need to have deep pockets to resist them out of principle.
The latest evolution in these are really devious: A shelf tag advertises a price in large print: $7.99 with smaller print "with digital coupon" And then underneath, in the color usually used to show the "non-sale price," you see "$12.99." A lot of people just glance at the tag which looks a lot like the normal 'sale price' tag and thinks they're paying $8. Of course, you have to get in the sluggish, stupid app, and best case scenario scan the tag or the item and get to the right part of the app to "Clip" the coupon. Assuming you can get a good enough signal in that part of the store, and that you haven't become logged out of the app... etc. etc. And assuming you don't make a mental note to clip it in a minute when you get out of this crowded aisle and then forget.
I think they just really want to display one price and charge a much higher one to most people.
In my part of the US, anyway, there are several grocery stores that don't use loyalty cards at all, so you can avoid the extortion by shopping at those.
apps are a new thing. before, when it was just a phone number, 867-5309 in the us would usually work to get the discount while being usefully trackable
You maybe haven't actually spent any time in Sweden and compared to how people act towards each other there compared to other countries? Or, you haven't spent enough time in other countries than Sweden, making it hard to compare.
I lived there for my first 20 years, and have since lived in Spain. The amount of trust between people in the Nordics is definitely higher than most other places in the world.
Yeah, I remember it as a kid. But it surprised me when they brought it back because people rarely used it. I still don't really get the point of it tbh, scanning items as you pick them up just spreads out the faff of scanning things and slows people down in the aisles.
Yes. In Switzerland Migros you have this as well, at least in the bigger ones. But they also added scanning with the phone. So you don't need a special scanner, just your phone.
One of the "perks" of my Walmart+ membership is scan-as-you-go. I think I've used it twice. Both times, I only had a few things and the store was packed solid with spring breakers. It was a decent experience but I still like the normal self-checkout the best.
So does Walmart+ (the membership program which also gives a better deal for home delivery). I am curious whether this is going to stay or not, now that in some Walmarts the self-checkouts (where you're still obliged to stop and scan a code to complete checkout) aren't open normally.
Scan-as-you-shop has been around for at least a decade at this point I think, at least in some parts of the world. ICA (supermarket in Sweden) been doing it for as long as I can remember, and I came across this image of the scanner being used at the store on Mediawiki: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Self_checkout_scanne... (Image uploaded 2011)
Surely this exists elsewhere too, or been judged to only work in certain contexts (like a high-trust environment like Sweden) and won't be the next realistic step.