Grocery Stores Providing a New Way of Shopping to Customers

Handheld Device Allows Customer to Forgo Long Line

In what maybe a sigh of relief for busy shoppers in D.C area, supermarkets are now offering personal scanners in their stores to put an end to the long line frequently accustomed by customers.

This new technology allows customers to spend more time shopping and less time waiting to check out. Customers work through the aisles, scanned each item as they take it off the shelf and bagged as they shop. When they are done, they pay at a special terminal at the front of the store.

The handheld scanners are more common in European countries, but they are now becoming available in few cities across the United States-especially the Washington D.C area. For those that are familiar with the pace of things in the D.C area, one will truly appreciates this high-tech device, as it will reduce shopping problem commonly encountered by shoppers in the area.

According to an Associated Press reporter who interviewed various customers at the Bloom stores in Scaggsville and Rockville and a Martin's Food Market in Eldersburg, all in Maryland, pointed that " Scales with printers let customers create bar-coded tags for fruits, vegetables and other produce that isn't priced." In the same vein, Bloom stores also provide a computerized kiosk that shows where the ingredients for a particular produce can be found in the store.

Upon completing shopping, customers are directed to go the front of the store-a place where they pay for all their groceries. Customers are randomly picked for checking to make sure items placed in shopping basket is being scanned.

Karen Peterson, who is a spokesperson for Food Lion, pointed out that the device has been provided in about 26 of the upscale Bloom stores. She also remarks that throughout the process, shoplifting "has not been a problem." She further pointed out that "it saves time, they can watch what they are spending,
Tracy Pawelski, a spokeswoman for Martin's- a parent company of Giant Food Stores LLC, said the handheld device does not affect or replace store employees, "[it is] purely about convenience for customers."