I so need that!! Which store?

I HATE shopping for groceries at the big local grocery stores. DH does it for me most of the time - so sweet of him. My pet peeve is everytime I figure out where everything should be, they go and move it.

I, on the other hand prefer farmers markets and small stores when I only need a couple of things.

Wonder if they should name it 'Raoul'

That's what I have been waiting for for 10 years since I saw the technology in the European supermarkets!! I've mentioned here several times about the supermarkets in Italy with handheld bar code readers on your shopping carts. We are so behind in some things. I'll never forget 20 years ago noticing that Europeans looked at our shoes to determine if we were Americans. They had Velcro, we had shoe strings.

L2C46, that was my first thought! I can do the shopping list on line and Clive can retrieve it in the store...and it will tell him exactly where in the store to find the product!

Just the techno aspect will be enough to make him happy to pick up groceries.

Yahoo !

I am curious why they would want that efficient system.

In general, stores want you to walk around as much as possible. The more you walk the more you will buy things you don't need.

dcarch

Wouldn't that be nice. But again, computers don't always tell the truth... at least those in Canadian Tire don't.

Saw something on the flyers, went to the isle and nothing was there. Had a staff check the computer and he said "yeah we have a few in the store only we can't find them where they're supposed to be." Can we completely trust technology? LOL Al

We have a chain of grocery stores here on Long Island that have hand-held bar-code readers at the stores entrance.You pickup some bags (or bring your own reusable bags) and walk through the store and scan each item so you can self check out. As you scan each item, you pack it in the bag. By the time you get to the check out, you're packed and ready to go.

Little different than what you've encountered - but another example of technology making life a bit easier.

Sue

And the name of the store is???

Sue,
Now that's a self-checkout that I would use!
I usually avoid the self-checkout unless I have no cash to tip the bagger (I shop at the military Commissary- the baggers work for tips only) and it takes pretty much forever.

I would love that! I remember Cathy mentioning something about something like that in Italy.
I don't get it. We are supposed to be so technologically advanced here in the states, but are always behind other countries in stuff like this.
I remember in Norway in 1997 they had a setup where your speed could be tracked, photographed, and a ticket automatically sent to you if you violated the speed limits. That was thirteen years ago, and we are just fairly recently seeing it here in the states, primarily in urban areas.
Sharon, that would be perfect! Roger does the shopping for me, and invariably I forget something. I bet I could add something to the list when he was en route to the store. That's always my problem: I forget something until after he left. And I can't call him cause he doesn't "get" cell phones, and is actually so hard of hearing that he can't hear on them anyway.
Cool technology!

What an awesome idea! I would definitely love having the list online.... and I think they shoud put a bar scanner right next to it so you can scan as you load the things already on your list! Combine both Sharons and Sues experiences!

I am soooooooo there!
Alexa

Wow and I thought my grocery gadget app was cool for my iPhone!

I'd love those carts!!

Sounds cool, chase.

I've been using PeaPod for 2-3 years. I love preparing my list online over a period of several days. I can change the order right up to the night before delivery. Also, it's stopped impulse buying. What I love the most is the delivery right to my kitchen counters. I've always hated grocery shopping. I've become friends with my delivery person & he knows how to bag stuff the way I like so putting the groceries away is easy. He even takes meat to the garage freezer for me & stacks Pepsi in the pantry. By the time my discounts for paying via automatic debit & allowing them a larger window for delivery are calculated it only costs me $4.95 for the service. In the beginning I was afraid of having somebody else choose my meat and/or produce but it's actually worked out very well. Since my delivery man is the one who pulls the products he's learned my quirks plus he pulls from the warehouse so I get fresher products (haven't been sitting around a store's produce section for several days). All-in-all, a great service & it's fun to prepare my list online. There's even been a few times when I was feeling not so great & he's even put the groceries away for me.

The only time we physically go to a grocery store anymore is when we just want to go somewhere different like a specialty store or farmer's market & that's always been fun. I love PeaPod. It's a great combination of technology & old-fashioned corner grocery store service.

/tricia

It is really cool but I still live in a world where the price that rings up is different than the price posted. And it aggravates me so anything else to complicate my shopping trip is not for me. Besides I think it would drive up the price of groceries. But I love grocery shopping.

Ooooh...do tell! Inquiring minds want to know!

Shaun -- what app do you use? I've been using ShopShop, but always like to hear about others.

Tamara

It's at our Loblaw's Superstore and it is very cool. It's a very large store so I did like it for locating a few things that are in the centre aisles. Worked like a charm.

Arch, I find most stores, regardless of the chain, use basically the same layout. Produce, bread , deli as you come in. Seafood , meats, at the back. Dairy and frozen down the other side and dry and packaged in the centre aisles. I think there is a strategy to the way they layout the centre aisles though.

The online shopping list is clearly aimed at making them your only store. I'll rarely use it for myself because it is not as handy as other stores but I will use it when I am making a specific trip to this store. However I could see it being very useful for people who do large weekly shopping or for when I send Clive on a mission.

The gadgets sound cool but I'm much more interested in low prices! There was a discussion about the handheld scanners on the Conversations page at Home Decorating. I will try to keep an open mind if they ever install those here, but I'm always wary of when they want me to do their job for them. It better make my life easier too, and I'm not convinced those scanners would.

The PC on the cart sounds cool but again, I'm not sure if I'd use it. I write my list the old fashioned way - on a scrap of paper. And the list is not exclusively mine, Len adds to it, and so do the kids when they are home. If we had to get to a computer every time we wanted to add something, I'm afraid it just wouldn't get added.

And like you said, Sharon, it sort of ties you to that one store. There are several different grocery stores I go to (not on the same day of course!) depending on what I need so I'm not the loyal type! LOL

The thing I wonder about the most is the cost of these gadgets. If they are raising their prices to pay for these things, I'll just stick with the low tech grocers.

Ya know...I am not all that excited about something like this. But keep in mind, I am very low tech (is that the same as old-fashioned?)

Some of this "technology" kind of whigs me out. Like the speed-tracker stuff Sherry mentioned. I don't think so...
Too "Big Brother-ish". I know it's happening and I know I can't change that.

People are never going to have to leave their homes. For anything.

But cheers to those of you that enjoy it. (Not trying to be a downer! LOL)

Linda

I think the new technology sounds great for grocery stores. It will be fun to watch it develop. It will only be high volume stores that get it due to cost.

Anything that keeps the shopper in a good frame of mind will have added benefits and increased sales. Consumers want easy and fast and this sounds like it will do just that! When the shopper can find the things they want quickly, it increases the amount of time they will spend impulse shopping. The old 'make them hunt for it' mentality has long been abandoned. Milk and eggs will always be kept in the back of the store and the higher profit items at eye level. The refrigerated stock rooms have to be along the sides and the back of the building. The milk coolers get stocked from the backside today directly from the stock area.

Nancy

Sue - What store has that here on LI??

I like the idea of being told where to find something, but beyond that I could probably do without high tech. Maybe if my shopping cart resembled my shopping list more closely on a regular basis I'd feel differently about it.

As for delivery services, I can see where they're a blessing for many. But especially when it comes to the butcher and produce sections, I buy largely based on what happens to look good on that particular day and might completely change dinner plans on a moment's notice if I don't like what I'm seeing. I'd have a hard time giving that up.

We have four Canadian Superstores here in Calgary but none of them has such features. Isn't Calgary one of the biggest four cities in Canada? Often, the checkout price doesn't match the shelf price. And they always go by the price listed on the computer, not the one posted on the shelf. :-( Al

Tamara, I use grocery gadget lite, it's free and I just love it! I always have my phone with me so when I think of something I need from the store, I just enter it. Since my phone is always with me, I never forget my list again!

Now, Al, that's where it gets aggravating because I almost always speak up about the price being different and sometimes they take my word for it but sometimes it requires sending out someone to check. Some stores give you the item for free if it rings up wrong.
And, uhmmm, I have been wrong before which is most embarrassing. So I try to pay attention when shopping.

The milk coolers get stocked from the backside today directly from the stock area. You know I can't miss an opportunity to talk Grammy talk about the babies. We were standing in front of the milk case when a pair of arms poked through to restock milk. Beau was sitting in the buggy witnessing this at eye level. He went through a few emotions (surprise, fear, tickled) then laughed hysterically. He couldn't wait to tell mommydaddy about the magic arms.

Cathy! hahaha!

LOL Mustangs! Now we know why kids think milk comes from grocery stores!

Bumblebeez, I know... they do send people out to do price check. But always come back and say "Nah, the tag there is wrong. It was on sale last week." If it was on sale last week the tag should be down. And if it was not down then you should honor the price posted! But these people always go by the computer. Every time I run into a situation like this the cashier always asks, "So, do you still want it?" If I mention they should change the price on the shelf I always get this not-my-problem stare. Superstore has good deals but customer service can be very lousy.

Al

DH was watching TV last night. I think it was on the Discovery channel. This was on the program he was watching!

Tami

I'm kind of with Linda (doucanoe).
I like going to the store, chatting with the checker and whoever else I may run into, maybe stumbling upon something new to try, etc.
No, I'm no so bored or rural that this is my social outing! LOL
I just like to look at food!

Don't tell my boss I said any of that. I work for a barcode manufacturer!! Hee hee.

Deanna
(who does not own an ipod, mp3 player, bluetooth, we don't watch TV and I'm on dial-up.........all by choice! The internet is our source for news/weather, talking to you guys and I have a cell pretty much for emergencies...costs meabout $8/month)

Whoa Deanna! You work for a barcode manufacturer? A couple of months ago didn't I put you in charge of getting an affordable barcode reader/program for our pantries and refrigerators??

Publix (in FL and throughout the SE) will give you a product if it rings up at checkout at a different price than is shown on the shelf. Keeps them honest and keeps consumers (some of them) alert.