LCD in Aisle Three
On a recent Saturday afternoon in Mooresville, 20 miles north of Charlotte, the grocery aisles at the Wal-Mart Supercenter and SuperTarget were bustling. Down the road at Bloom, which is neither outsized nor upscale, there was only a trickle of business, and all the hand-held scanners were docked in the charging station.
Even with a greeter at Bloom explaining how the scanners work, most people went about their shopping as they usually do. Of course, it can take a while to teach shoppers new habits; in the 1930s, Sylvan Goldman, credited as the inventor of the shopping cart, had to hire shills to push them around his Oklahoma City market until his customers got comfortable with the notion.
But the scanner has won some converts. Maxine Gaston, who shops weekly at Bloom, says, "It helps your budget. I don't go over, no matter what it is." And Morris, who is visiting from Florida, wishes her supermarket back home had the self-scan-and-bag option: "I hate it when people put my meat in with my tomatoes."
Reinventing The Grocery Store
In the high-tech experimental "Bloom" grocery store, customers obtain a personal ID, grab a hand-held scanner and some bags, and go to it. The scanner keeps a tally as the shopper selects, scans, and bags the groceries. Along the way, kiosks answer questions and offer extra information. At checkout, a final, single scan completes the sale.
SMART SCALES
Self-serve produce scales automatically give the price.
MEAT AND WINE KIOSKS
Suffering from chef's block? Scan the bar code on your selected meat. The kiosk displays recipes and cooking instructions, suggests foods to go with your wine, and offers party planning tips. Print your information right there.
PHARMACY
Drop off your prescription when you arrive. When it's ready, the pharmacist sends a message to your scanner.
HAND-HELD SCANNER
This bar code scanner keeps a running tab of your items. Customers bag as they go. Scanning an "end of trip" bar code wirelessly sends the total to a check out station, where you pay. Random grocery checks aim to curtail cheaters.
INFORMATION STATION
Here customers may check prices and locate items, which are displayed on a store map.
[labels]
Information stations
Produce scales
Meat kiosk
Wine kiosk
Personal scanner station
DELI & BAKERY
MEATS
GROCERY ISLES [4 labels]
Graphic by Rob Cady-- USN&WR
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