SUPER STORE IS A NEW THAN SUPER MALLS

SEE BELOW FOR AMMENDMENTS BY ME

Supermarkets in the future will be very different from the way we know them today.
Modern technology has allowed us to re-invent the way we shop and pay for our groceries and daily essentials. Here are some highlights to pique your imagination:

• At Price Chopper’s Burlington store, checkout lanes are equipped with automated “Easy Scan Checkout” machines. Only a few employees are present to verify age for alcohol purchases, witness credit card transactions and assist shoppers. Customers manage their own checkout. They weigh their vegetables, scan the barcodes, package the food, and pay via cash or credit cards at the automated self-checkout machines. Shoppers are reporting a greater sense of participation and achievement with this self-checkout concept.

• Europe’s Metro AG is revolutionizing the shopping experience by introducing cutting-edge technologies at its Future Store in Germany. At the supermarket, you’ll receive a device called the Personal Shopping Assistant which allows you to manage your own shopping. Your recent shopping history can be easily retrieved, and you can even use the intelligent scales that recognize, weigh and price fruit and vegetables automatically. Interactive multimedia kiosks are located throughout the supermart so that you can obtain detailed information easily.

• Pick n’ Save Metro Market in San Francisco (USA) has rolled out a new payment service to allow its customers to Pay By Touch. At check-out terminals, shoppers scan their finger, enter a search code, swipe rewards cards and/or payment cards, and add their checking account information to build a personal Pay By Touch wallet, which is stored at secure IBM data centers. Next time you shop, simply do a finger scan to pay for all your purchases conveniently.

Have you seen any smart, innovative technology being utilized in your local supermarkets?
source:
Copied from Source with Thanks:
http://smallbiztrends.com/2008/01/new-business-ideas-super-supermarkets.html

  Amendment:

Some of the practical ideas that could be applied in Indian cost applicative mind-set are:

• HOME SERVICE FOR GROCERY : Petrol costs more. Time is Less :

I was discussing to one of my friend who is a bussinessmen in Ahmebad, why you are buying so much in a lot, where big supermall is nearby . he replied gently, with gujarati's style: its takes 30 Rs [4Rs. /KM] petrol to move a vehicle, 10 Rs. parking charge. that makes 40 Rs. so if i am shopping for 2 times in one go, I am saving 40 rs.
Second, more valid point  is that he scribed is saving of almost 2 hours in whole process.

This conversation was rasied when We were discussing about validity of bussiness idea Home Service for Grocery. for just 20rs. per call. Every one will be happy.. With greater penetration in the market this price could go down, and with greater fuel charges this solutions will be more viable.

• Automatically e-mail and sms of your bill number while you buy.

I was recently told by service centre, that he will not be able to help me for the electronic product,  as I have lost my bill. Few days back, I have purchased, jeans and would not be able to exchange that on the very next day, due to lack of bill.
Reform:
My friend recently purchased hard disk from a electronic super mall in pune. He was ask for his email id. He was plesant and surprised to see bill of his last purchase hard disk in his mail account.

This leads to extra expense of peanuts to the store owner, where it requires just a few lines of codes of ammendment in their existing system.

• RF readers to take orders and print out bill and pay cash seamlessley

There is one sweet shop in pune with nearly 20 customers on average in a shop. which has nearly 60 types of sweets and derivative.They were hooked up due to congestion in the service in the peak hours and discomfort to the customers due to time delay in processing.
With technology they make it everything smooth. Customer entering takes one card from the rack [cards containt unique number].
CHOOSE SWEET : Good showcase and test box have been kept to select sweets to buy.
SELECT SWEET : Assistant nearby will put your card in nearby device, punch code of the sweet you wanted to buy and quantity.
CASH : While you pay the cash and printout your bill at cashcounter, your sweet sweets are ready to take home.