Do you find grocery shopping boring? Well, here’s a way to spice it up!

[Editor's note: This is a dispatch from the field from Loftware's Joe Longo, International Sales-EMEA.]

Grocery stores are introducing newer technologies to lower costs, increase efficiencies, and (probably most importantly) to hold the shoppers attention. At the Danbury, CT grocery store, Stop N Shop, management has introduced the “Shopping Buddy”.

It’s a satellite-based device that clips onto the shopping cart. The book-sized device keeps track of a customer's place in the store, letting the shopper know when there is an important item to take notice. When a customer walks by an item on sale that they usually buy, a screen pops up. And it ties into those red boxes with discounts for a customer to punch in for those extra saving days. It also can keep a running tally of a customer’s purchases for those on a budget. And by using discounts and other technologies, stores can monitor what customers are buying and try to sell them more.

You can place an order at the Deli then continue shopping up and down the aisle. When your order is ready, the device will let them know. A Danbury women who was ordering lunch meat said, “it knows what aisle your in and what your buying”, she said. “It’s a bit odd.” A Stop N Shop spokesman said, “the supermarket industry is very competitive. It’s very important to differentiate yourself from the competition.”

Another Danbury customer, Diane Thyse says, “they’re making it too easy to spend money”. But she said that her 7-year old son found the scanning part fun. And she does agree that it is a big time saver. “I’ve been working all day. I think once you get use to it, it will save you time:”

The seemingly endless search to save time is what is driving most grocers to push for newer technologies. Mark Ligas, a professor at Fairfield University says, “grocery stores have to do something to make a more tolerable experience. It’s not like grocery stores are going away!”

Taken from the Danbury NewsTimes, dated July 31, 2006 Local News titled “Grocery chains use technology to attract and keep shoppers”.

Joe Longo
Loftware Inc.
International Sales-EMEA
jlongo@loftware.com