11

Food

Modern Grocery Cart

Grocery shopping can be stressful. Lets make shopping easier and more modern. I suggest that grocery stores should add tools to their carts; this will allow shoppers to visualize a running total, locate desired products, check the nutritional value, discover other options, and a whole lot more.

by Tara K Magee on June 9th, 2014, 12:28 pm PDT. This Ivia has been viewed 7,918 times. Last improved on July 8th, 2014, 3:53 pm PDT.

Scanners and Tablets Built into Carts

A modern shopping cart should let you just scan your items and go. The carts need to have barcode scanners built into them. The scanner should be easily accessible, so that when items are placed in the cart the total is shown. Shopping, especially grocery shopping can add up. 

Think about when you go to the grocery store and items start piling up in your cart. You start to estimate how much the cost is going to be. Then you reach the cashier and your idea of the total price is five times worse! You don't want to be that person that holds up the line and starts removing items from your cart. So then you suck it up and purchase every single one of those items, and in many cases those items, especially produce, go bad before you can use it. So my solution, a shopping cart scanner, would prevent these outcomes. You would have an exact idea of how much you are going to spend that day at the grocery store, or more importantly at other stores, such as Target. 

Locate Faster

Along with scanning your items before placing them in the cart, the same device could help you located items in the store. 

For example,  Collin Yballa's experience 

I couldn't find hummus the other day. I thought, "Hummus, must be under condiments." It was under Deli"

 Think about when you go to the grocery store and items start piling up in your cart. You start to estimate how much the cost is going to be. Then you reach the cashier and your idea of the total price is five times worse! You don't want to be that person that holds up the line and starts removing items from your cart. So then you suck it up and purchase every single one of those items, and in many cases those items, especially produce, go bad before you can use it. So my solution, a shopping cart scanner, would prevent these outcomes. You would have an exact idea of how much you are going to spend that day at the grocery store, or more importantly at other stores, such as Target.

For instance, when you have finished going through every aisle, then you look at your shopping list and realize that you have forgot an important item, And to top it off you have no idea were in the store it is. So you are forced to push your full cart up and down the aisles and eventually you just give up because you just want to get the hell out! Shopping, any type of shopping, is suppose to be a relaxing experience and it quickly turns into a battle. A shopping cart scanner/ locator would solve all of our problems and would be much more efficient. 

Apps For Consumer and Store Convenience

Apps on your smart phone that sync the consumer to the store. This will provide the consumers features such as;

  • make a list anywhere and take it to the cart
  • find what you need with a map showing where the items are on the cart
  • find when limited items are available
  • show you comparable or better products
  • offer more detailed information on the products
  • show you your running total cost 

This would provide the stores with benefits such as;

  • consumer subscriptions/signups
  • direct advertisement opportunities based on the consumers habits
  • flow and traffic profitability of the stores layout
  • the ability to track carts exciting the stores
  • offer rewards for return of carts for cleaner parking lots

Main Image Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_cart

Vote for 11 this Ivia

About the Author

Tara K Magee
San Francisco, California, United States
Recent College Graduate
Sonoma State University

Contribute to this Ivia!

|

VAN Truong 9 years ago

Great idea! 

|

Collin James Yballa 9 years ago

The reason we do pile things in to our carts is because of marketing. "You want it, might as well.; item grabbed." An item scanner would assist you with inventory management while maintaining a budget, but let's be honest. A simple grocery list will suffice. Chances are you've already bought everything in the grocery store before and know their prices even on sale. A grocery list reminds you what is necessity to purchase versus what is desired. The only reason we want extra stuff is because of large corporations pushing advertisement down our throats subconsciously. Another option is to use a hand held bin instead of a cart; the (people will eat less when serve on small plates) example may be applied. But of course I understand if you are shopping for more than one person.
|

Collin James Yballa 9 years ago

I couldn't find hummus the other day. I thought, "Hummus, must be under condiments." It was under Deli. I am assuming the scanners search process would be based on categories, rendering you useless as we still won't be able to locate these item even if we know what "we" consider them. If a keyboard were included on this scanner than it may be too bulky, but would be SUPER awesome. Bulky scanner would have to be connected to a shopping cart, hassling those who carry bin's rather than push carts, Maybe a grocery item search station may serve customers better.
|

Zachary Adam Zell 9 years ago

Great Ivia.

One concern would be why would the stores want to implement this in to their shopping carts if it makes their customers more frugal.

You could state that some incentives for the stores to implement this feature would be the possibilities of;

1. the ability to track the carts movements
2. track what customers buy at what price
3. create incentive based coupons upon the return of carts
4. require sign up for the availability for the service

Edited 9 years ago

|

Collin James Yballa 9 years ago

response to 2: stores can already track what we buy, e.i. Target, but they can now better track what we are unable to find and may restock inventory more appropriately