|
With self-checkout machines Debbie Krug (right) learns to use the new hand-held scanners from Giant's Lisa Kennedy. |
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.
Scan It! works like this: Customers scan their Giant bonus cards into a machine on a display rack, which activates one of the devices and makes its holder blink. This process also uploads sale prices from the most current Giant advertising circular plus additional sale offers available only to Scan It! users. The latter are based on customers' purchase histories and current shopping behavior.
As they shop, customers scan the barcodes for items they want and place the items in bags in their grocery carts. Occasionally the scanners will emit a loud "KA-CHING!" to alert them to a sale item on a nearby shelf.
Viki Williams of Spotsylvania said she liked that feature because she discovers discounts on things she might not otherwise have thought to buy. Last Friday, for example, a 50-cent discount on Wishbone Creamy Italian dressing convinced her to pick up a bottle to go along with the spaghetti she was planning to make for dinner that night.
"It also keeps track of your spending, which is awesome," she said. "If you're close to your budget, you can stop shopping or put something back."
Deleting an item is as simple as clicking the "remove" button on the scanner, and all customers have to do when they've finished shopping is scan the "end of order" barcode at the checkout area. This automatically rings up the sale on either the cashier's register or the self-checkout machine. Customers then hand over any coupons they've clipped, pay and leave.
"The technology does prompt for random audits," said Giant's Miller. "But our experience is that customers have been very honest, and there haven't been any issues with people putting things in their bags that they didn't scan."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
