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

[2457282]

You know, this is only sorta new. I have been for years doing this at my local grocery store where they provided a wanding device. Essentially you scan as you shop (I even get bags and bag my stuff as I go as well). At the end of the shoping, Iwalk up to the register, it downloads the information, I insert my credit card and I am off. Twice I have been stopped for an audit check (which I have passed). So this is cool since I can use my own device and it clearly saves them money by not having to purchase a bunch of wands.

Generally I really like the technology, gets me in and out very fast and I rarely have to talk to the staff (which at least in my store can be a bit slow on the uptake).

 

[saud0488]

Both of my local Walmarts got rid of the self checkouts several years ago. I wonder if they will bring them back now.

I'm guessing your wal mart wasn't in the best part of town. One of them by me, in Akron, has gotten rid of them too since they became a supercenter. I'm sure you can guess why. Another one in a better area actually installed more of them.

 

[Syk]

It's actually pretty awesome and a time saver.

The way that it actually works is:

• Scan the items you want with your phone.
• When you're ready to checkout, you go to a self-service checkout and transfer the Scan & Go basket to the register by scanning a QR code on the register.
• You pay and go.

Contrary to previous posts, you don't have to weigh anything (like the traditional self-service checkout method requires).

Theoretically you use the re-usable shopping bags, and bag everything as you scan, so the shopping experience is seamless.

Can't wait to see this in more stores.

So how will you deactivate stuff that has the little EAS tag in them? You would still have to take it out of cart and run it across the magnet pad or something.

I think I read Old Navy has this type of program that WalMart is trying but I think you can pay on your phone or some device. One of our Walmarts got rid of their self check out because of theft that was going on. Wouldn't call it a high crime area either.

 

[Arran]

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?

And a greater chance you'll drop your phone and break it as you wander the store. And what if you want to do something else on your phone as you shop? It sounds awkward.

 

[martygras9]

Am I the only one bothered when companies use outdated iPhone templates? These are AT&T iPhones 4's from 2010.

 

[kilcher]

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?

If you bag your groceries as you load them into the cart (maybe putting them into your own canvas bags) you're saving the time of having to unload and reload everything from the cart and the cashier having to scan it. Which in turn saves the people behind you in line time. All you do at the front of the store is scan the app, swipe your card, and go.

It's only a matter of time before there are dedicated pay stations and/or the ability to pay directly from the app.

I would be interested in knowing how they're going to deter theft. You'll have the "Oops, I forgot to scan that big screen TV" incidents or what if you do legitimately forget to scan something. With self-checkout they weigh the contents of the bags. Interesting stuff.

This is pretty awesome IMO. My wife has started shopping at Kroger more because she hates the wait at Walmart. For those of you that don't like it, guess what, you don't have to use it.

 

[JHankwitz]

I personally would find no benefit to scanning my purchases into my iPhone without having it complete the purchase and make the payment. According to the report, almost a half of the users didn't bother to use it a second time. They didn't say what percentage stopped using it after the third or fourth time. Looks like a looser to me.

 

[wkadamsjr]

And a greater chance you'll drop your phone and break it as you wander the store. And what if you want to do something else on your phone as you shop? It sounds awkward.

Because people don't walk around WalMart with their phones out anyways. And you don't necessarily have to scan everything at once. Furthermore, you don't have to scan anything at all if it is too inconvenient for you. There will still be normal checkout lines.

 

[chainprayer]

I keep track of my total as I go anyway so I don't go over budget. This will keep an accurate total (I tend to clear my calculator and lose the total sometimes), and since I'm tracking anyway, I don't have to pull everything out of my cart just to put it back in 2 minutes later

 

[NewAnger]

I go to Walmart at around midnight or later to avoid lines and people.

 

[DanielSw]

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

Wrong. I'm in Clearwater. I downloaded the app, and all of my nearby stores appear on the map.

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And a greater chance you'll drop your phone and break it as you wander the store. And what if you want to do something else on your phone as you shop? It sounds awkward.

YOU sound awkward, if you think you're going to drop your phone all the time.

 

[maxosx]

Many like to be Apple snobs, or carry around some idea that Apple is above the rest. Yet here we are in a rather precarious economy, and the lure of Walmart is simply too much for Apple to resist.

This is too funny. I can see all the Apple elitists cringing at the thought of Walmart... ewe... ha.. ha.. ha...

Hey! Gotta have a sense of humor

 

[winston1236]

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.......

It makes me happy to see my gov not wasting money on new tech. Since they produce nothing they dont need cutting edge tech. Xp is just fine for them.

 

[kirky29]

Tesco has a system here in the UK which works absolutely fine. The membership card you have (to collect points) is used to pickup a handscanner (or with Walmart's case an iPhone app) .. You then scan all your items while you shop and pack everything in bags you bring along. Once you are done you go to a special self-checkout till which is only there for self-scanner.

When you use the system the first time, a shop assistent will check your bags. After that it is just by random. The system selects random customer who should be checked out.

As for vegs - there are scales with printer in the veggie section so you can print yourself a barcode, which you can then scan.

A weeks shopping used to take around 1hr10 on Friday evening (with queueing / packing / paying etc.) compared to just over half an hour.

Love that system ... here in the UK anyway

I know Sainsbury's are testing iPhone scan and pay methods which are sounding pretty much the same as Walmart. The Tesco one seems a little strange if you've gotta pick up your own scanner? I'd prefer to use my own iPhone-scan-and pay.

 

[lilo777]

It's just a poor replacement

for the self check out counter. It's much easier and faster to use specialized scanner at the counter to scan your purchases than to use the phone's camera. That's just too tedious. Not to mention that this technique would not work for items that require weighing or have special security tags. As far as comparison to NFC enabled phones is concerned... NFC would just make the final payment faster (but the whole idea is questionable anyways).

 

[AppleScruff1]

These days, the customers targeted by Apple and the customers targeted by Mall*Wart are one and the same. It makes sense that this is being implemented - Wall-mart knows that its customers are the kind of people who would buy an iPhone.

Ouch!. There goes the high end Apple image.

 

[Jibbajabba]

I know Sainsbury's are testing iPhone scan and pay methods which are sounding pretty much the same as Walmart. The Tesco one seems a little strange if you've gotta pick up your own scanner? I'd prefer to use my own iPhone-scan-and pay.

Yea but still reasonable .. Besides, I am sure I am quicker in taking a scanner from the wall next to the entrance than some people in trying to get their phone out of the pocket, open the app, login, panic that there isn't any reception in Tesco, panic some more .. and so on

It is doing my head in when people queue here in Starbucks and at the till realise they have an iPhone app and it takes ages for them to get the damn thing out of their pocket and the app opened .. by that time three more people paid cash

 

[Daalseth]

Have you even used nfc?

No. None of the devices I own support it. None of the stores I go to support it. For all the hype it seems to be stillborn, at least that's what I'm seeing around here, and I'm not way out in the sticks either. Nanaimo is one of the best connected cities in North America. This seems like a far better solution that could be adopted far quicker than NFC

 

[lilo777]

No. None of the devices I own support it. None of the stores I go to support it. For all the hype it seems to be stillborn, at least that's what I'm seeing around here, and I'm not way out in the sticks either. Nanaimo is one of the best connected cities in North America. This seems like a far better solution that could be adopted far quicker than NFC

Is it possible that you are just unaware that some of the stores you go to do have NFC? For example, it looks like you have Toys"R"Us and Old Navy there. These stores support Google Wallet (at least in USA)

 

[iGrip]

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.

Please tell me how they could "take advantage or integrate technology" and end up with a better sports team.

Your problem is that your government gave millions of dollars to a private, profit seeking corporation, and was able to bamboozle the ignorant citizens into thinking it was a good use of public money. It has zero to do with technology. It has everything to do with idiots who elect corrupt governments.

 

[DarwinOSX]

So you don't know how this works.

What could possibly go wrong with letting Wal-mart customers scan and bag their own items?

 

[DarwinOSX]

I work in payments architecture. NFC is dead in the water for the same reason as RFID before it. Stores don't want to buy the readers or integrate them into their systems. Until there are a critical mass of customers who want to use NFC it will go nowhere. Chicken and egg problem. It doesn't help that everyone is trying to create their own payments apps and systems rather than agree on a standard.

No. None of the devices I own support it. None of the stores I go to support it. For all the hype it seems to be stillborn, at least that's what I'm seeing around here, and I'm not way out in the sticks either. Nanaimo is one of the best connected cities in North America. This seems like a far better solution that could be adopted far quicker than NFC

 

[malexandria]

Yey! I get to be a Bagger!

Awesome, I'm already a grocery store bagger these days, why not expand this crap to every store I shop at.

 

[DarwinOSX]

Google Wallet is only one type of NFC and proprietary at that.

Is it possible that you are just unaware that some of the stores you go to do have NFC? For example, it looks like you have Toys"R"Us and Old Navy there. These stores support Google Wallet (at least in USA)

 

[Astro7x]

I'd be for a 5 items or less type version of this where you can just leave the store and show your phone to somebody at the door. I might actually use walmart then if I can be in and out for short shopping trips.