Retailers make trial offers on shopping technologies

They're testing new in-store devices tied to back-end systems

By Carol Sliwa

January 17, 2005 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - Tired of waiting in line at your supermarket's deli counter? At select Stop & Shop stores, you can place an order through a tablet-size PC that's mounted on a shopping cart and connected to a wireless network and be notified electronically when your order is ready.
Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. is piloting the so-called intelligent shopping cart technology, which was developed by IBM and Cuesol Inc. The system is one of the emerging technologies that will be showcased this week as part of the X05 Smart Store display at the National Retail Federation's annual convention in New York.
But what looks cool to the outside world couldn't happen without the integration of numerous applications, including the supermarket chain's point-of-sale and loyalty-card systems, said Susan Shahroodi, a director of development with the information services group at Ahold USA Inc., which owns Stop & Shop.
When customers scan their loyalty cards, the cart-mounted PC -- which Stop & Shop calls a Shopping Buddy -- can display a wide range of information, including their buying histories, promotional items, personalized coupon offers and store maps.
In addition, the PCs are equipped with laser scanners that can read bar codes as shoppers place items in their carts, eliminating the need to scan the goods at checkout.


Metro AG is testing an IBM device that works with the retailer's systems to guide shoppers to wine they've selected at an interactive kiosk.

The PC, which is equipped with an Opera browser, communicates via radio frequency with an IBM WebSphere server running a shopper-assistant application that was written by Quincy-based Cuesol. Web services and more traditional integration technologies connect the various back-end systems, according to Shahroodi.
Planning Is Key
Stop & Shop has spent about a year on the project, she said. "It's not just, 'Come in and plop down some racks and tablets and you're ready to go.' It's highly integrated, and you have to plan that."
The project was originally a joint development effort with Cuesol and Symbol Technologies Inc. After Symbol pulled out last year, Stop & Shop turned to IBM, Shahroodi said. The company rolled out the IBM hardware at three stores in Massachusetts this month, replacing Symbol models. Plans call for an expansion to 20 more stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut beginning in June, Shahroodi said.
Among the other cutting-edge technologies that will be showcased in the Smart Store at the NRF show is an IBM Everywhere Display that is being piloted by German retailer Metro AG in the wine aisle

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