Schnuck Markets and Dierbergs, two well known St. Louis area based grocers, have announced plans to install self-scan checkouts in all their stores by next year. Each grocer intends to have four self-scan checkouts per store with one associate assigned to supervise the stations.
Craig Schnuck, Schnuck's chairman and chief executive, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "The convenience of (the technology) appeals to those who are short on time and need to pick up just a few essentials. The system has been particularly popular with lunchtime crowds."
Schnuck's and Dierbergs chose to install U-Scan stations from Optimal Robotics in Montreal. The new units allow shoppers to buy approximately 20 items. The previous limit was about 12.
Greg Dierberg, executive vice-president for Dierbergs, said the new units are more user-friendly than previous ones.
Moderator's Comment: Will self-scanning stations make sense for large weekly shopping trip transactions or is their value only in processing fill-in visit and express lane transactions? [George Anderson - Moderator]