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Reuters reports that Walmart is expanding its iPhone-based Scan & Go self-checkout system to over 200 of its stores, up from 70 currently. The company began pilot testing on the project, which allows users to scan items into an iPhone app as they shop and then easily pay for their items at a checkout station as they leave the store, last August.
For now, "Scan & Go" only works on Apple Inc devices. An Android version should be out soon, Walmart said.

With more than half of its shoppers using smartphones, Walmart is trying to make shopping more convenient for shoppers who embrace mobile technology. More than half of the customers who have tried the "Scan & Go" feature have used it more than once, [Walmart senior vice president Gibu] Thomas said.
walmart_scan_go.jpg
The Scan & Go program is currently in place at a number of Walmart stores in Georgia and Arkansas, with individual stores in Vancouver, Washington and San Jose, California also participating. The current expansion will bring the program to a number of new areas in the central and western part of the United States.
Walmart is bringing "Scan & Go" into a dozen more markets: Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; Omaha, Nebraska; Dallas and Austin, Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wyoming; Bozeman, Montana; Seattle, Washington; San Jose, California; and Portland, Oregon.
The report notes that while customers are able to record their purchases on their iPhones, they still must pay using traditional methods at self-checkout stations, and the company declined to comment on whether it has plans to offer more integrated mobile payment methods such as directly through the app itself.

Scan & Go is offered through the standard Walmart iOS app, with users able to access a special mode of the app when they visit Walmart locations supporting Scan & Go.

Article Link: Walmart Expanding 'Scan & Go' iPhone Self-Checkout to Over 200 Stores
 

japanime

macrumors 68030
Feb 27, 2006
2,916
4,844
Japan
Fantastic. I know lots of folks don't care for Walmart. But the adoption of iPhone technology by a major company is nothing but a good thing.
 

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
1,426
489
Wow, I was interested when I read they were expanding this because I notice a new self checkout station being installed at my local Walmart thinking this is what it's for. Unfortunately Florida is not on the list :/ oh well
 

applesith

macrumors 68030
Jun 11, 2007
2,774
1,570
Manhattan
So cool! More stores need this. Waiting in line and then getting a cashier that works like it's their first day everyday can be so painful.
 

Joe-Diver

macrumors 6502
Aug 2, 2009
265
0
I'll use this depending on my purchases.

I almost always use the self-checkout lanes now.

The only times I don't are when I'm buying a large amount of produce. It's not a problem if it's just a few veggies, but I'm slow looking things up and the regular cashiers (unless a newb) have most of the codes memorized and they fly through them.
 

DipDog3

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2002
1,191
812
But you still have to wait in line to pay & those lines are always super long because they one have two cashiers all the time...
 

GenesisST

macrumors 68000
Jan 23, 2006
1,802
1,055
Where I live
Wow, I was interested when I read they were expanding this because I notice a new self checkout station being installed at my local Walmart thinking this is what it's for. Unfortunately Florida is not on the list :/ oh well

Yeah, Florida has a good track record with "technology" (in the broad term of anything invented after 1 AD)... Hanging chads anyone?

:D
 

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
I'm 100% familiar on how this works. Could someone please make sense of it all for me? Is this a typo or am I not understanding how this works?

....which allows users to scan items into an iPhone app as they shop and then easily pay for their items at a checkout station as they leave the store

What am I missing? If you have to go to a checkout station what is the benefit of using the iPhone app? :confused:
 

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
1,426
489
What could possibly go wrong with letting Wal-mart customers scan and bag their own items? :eek:

If its anything like self-checkout they'll have some way to deter theft like a sensor to weigh the items in the bag.

----------

I'm 100% familiar on how this works. Could someone please make sense of it all for me? Is this a typo or am I not understanding how this works?

....which allows users to scan items into an iPhone app as they shop and then easily pay for their items at a checkout station as they leave the store

What am I missing? If you have to go to a checkout station what is the benefit of using the iPhone app? :confused:
The purpose is probably to let customers scan their own items in advance or at their own pace.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
it is awful. We have them where I live, and you still have to checkout like normal. It is nothing like the apple store app, where you literally pay from your phone and leave.
 

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
it is awful. We have them where I live, and you still have to checkout like normal. It is nothing like the apple store app, where you literally pay from your phone and leave.

That's exactly where I'm confused here. I'm feeling like if we have to go to a checkout station then it would seem like more work to put items into your basket, then scan each one into the iPhone app, then go to a self-checkout station. What's convenient about that?
 

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
1,426
489
Yeah, Florida has a good track record with "technology" (in the broad term of anything invented after 1 AD)... Hanging chads anyone?

:D

:( I'm embarrassed to say I'm from Florida but it gets worse... I live in Miami X_X we usually never see the government or business take advantage or integrate technology into their work. I'm still pretty upset we ended up spending millions on a ballpark for a team that is HORRIBLE. And some schools still use some version of Windows XP/embedded tablets for administration or POS stations because the software they use is outdated and only runs on that platform, we need more government officials to embrace modern technology or else suffer being left behind.......
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
That's exactly where I'm confused here. I'm feeling like if we have to go to a checkout station then it would seem like more work to put items into your basket, then scan each one into the iPhone app, then go to a self-checkout station. What's convenient about that?

You nailed it. That is exactly how it works, and it ends up being more work for us. It needs to be like the apple store self check out
 

Boatboy24

macrumors 65816
Nov 4, 2011
1,092
1,224
1 Infinite Loop
That's exactly where I'm confused here. I'm feeling like if we have to go to a checkout station then it would seem like more work to put items into your basket, then scan each one into the iPhone app, then go to a self-checkout station. What's convenient about that?

It's incredibly convenient for Wal-Mart.
 

notjustjay

macrumors 603
Sep 19, 2003
6,056
167
Canada, eh?
I'm 100% familiar on how this works. Could someone please make sense of it all for me? Is this a typo or am I not understanding how this works?

....which allows users to scan items into an iPhone app as they shop and then easily pay for their items at a checkout station as they leave the store

What am I missing? If you have to go to a checkout station what is the benefit of using the iPhone app? :confused:

I figure it works like this: you walk around the store picking up what you want, and scanning them in with your iPhone as you go.

This way you get a running tally of all your items, you see the price of each thing as it scans, no more "$15?! The shelf said $10! Call for a price check!"

When you're finished shopping you see the total amount on your phone, then you walk to a self-checkout, pay that amount, and leave.

What I'm not sure about is exactly how they're going to track theft. Self-scanning machines track items by weight, but this means you'd have to take everything out of your cart/bag and put it onto the self-checkout anyway, in which case, yeah, it's only marginally less work. If you've got everything in some kind of bag already then it may not be so bad to weigh the whole bag, but that means this process is really only useful if you have a small number of items.
 

AlphaVictor87

macrumors 6502a
Sep 7, 2011
797
27
Saint Louis, MO
The only issue i see with this is how do vegetables work?

Do you still have to place the items in a bag and on the "bag scale" to make sure you don't have anything extra?

And even if they did have this where you could walk out without even going to a checkout station, they better start installing bagging stations because there's no way in hell i'd walk out of walmart with over $150 in groceries and not have them bagged.
 
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