Even as new technologies continue to be introduced in the effort to make the process of tallying up retail purchases and paying for them faster and more efficient, 88 percent of shoppers in a recent survey of what they most wanted from retailers noted their desire for faster checkouts. Thus the innovations continue. For example, Kroger is testing a “Scan, Bag, Go” system in 15 stores, in which shoppers can download a mobile app and use it on their personal devices to scan the bar codes of the products they want to buy. Other, more widespread methods include revising the organization of queues and updated technology to determine how many checkout lanes to open. But the notion of a handheld scanner holds perhaps the best promise, because customers “love scanning and bagging and seeing their grocery bill while they shop.” The entertainment factor might make the difference for the acceptance of this efficiency tactic.

Source: George Anderson, Retail Wire, November 4, 2015