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With self-checkout machines at Giant stores, you scan an item before you put it into your bag.

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New device lets you scan while you shop

Fredericksburg-area Giant customers can now save time at three area stores by scanning and bagging items themselves as they shop

Date published: 5/2/2009

BY CATHY JETT

Trudy Martin likes to save time by using the self-checkout machine when she shops at the Super Giant at Harrison Crossing.

So the Orange County resident jumped at the chance to use one of the store's new personal, hand-held scanners last Friday.

"I like that it gives you a running total so you know how much you're spending," said Martin, who was scanning and bagging items as she shopped. "You can tell instantly how it's going to ring up."

Landover, Md.-based Giant Food introduced the purple and gray Scan It! devices in its Rockville, Md., stores last spring. They're now in about 50 Giant stores, including the one in Harrison Crossing in Spotsylvania County and those in the Doc Stone Commons and Town & Country shopping centers in Stafford County.

The hand-held scanners tap into tech-savvy consumers' familiarity with cell phones and other wireless devices, and save time by eliminating the need to ring up and re-bag groceries, according to creator Modiv Media.

"The feedback from customers has been very positive," said Giant Food spokesman Jamie Miller. "They say the technology is very user-friendly, and the people who have tried it out tend to use the technology again."

Bloom, a division of Food Lion, has had similar devices in many of its stores, including those in Locust Grove and Stafford, for about five years. The company is testing new technology "that will move us far beyond what the scanners do and incorporate scanning and much more," said spokeswoman Karen Peterson.

Lisa Kennedy, a Scan It! lead greeter, stood at the entrance of the Harrison Crossing Giant last Friday to introduce customers to the scanners and demonstrate how to use them. She said about 70 to 100 customers per day, or about 8 percent to 10 percent, have been trying out the devices there since they became available April 18.

Most, like Martin, already use the store's self-checkout machines, she said, although children also get a kick out of using the device to scan bar codes as their parents shop.


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Date published: 5/2/2009


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Henry -- I agree! (posted by Mojomama , May 4, 2009 7:54 am)   
If the stores want customers to do their own work, in scanning and bagging they should give us a discount. Meanwhile, I refuse to use the self-checkouts because these things allow grocery stores to eliminate people's jobs.

giant scanner (posted by henry , May 2, 2009 8:06 pm)   
so when do we the shopper get paid for doing the store clerks job. that is why I will not ust the self check outs. one clerk taks care of 6 or more self check outs and we do the work.

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