High Tech Shopping Carts Offer Discounts, Ads

An anonymous reader writes "'Imagine walking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on sale. Or picture reading the local five-day weather forecast, checking the Dow Jones industrial average and finding a new chicken and rice recipe, all from your shopping basket. Souped up with a computer attachment, your shopping cart could become a know-it-all that gives you special discounts based on what you buy or provides news and information as you sail through grocery aisles.' Full story here, and the Cart manufacturer's site here. I might just have to warshop in Moraga today..."

Comments

Grr.....

[GeckoFood]

The first time a shopping cart tells me that SPAM is on sale, I'm going to bludgeon a manager!

Re:Grr.....

[Anonymous Coward]

Business model:

1) Write free software.
2) ?
3) Eat a banana.
4) profit!!!!!

WoW!!!!

Re:Grr.....

[dalassa]

I don't know if this is better worse than what a Kroger's in Durham, NC has. When you go near the vegatables a speaker plays rain noises. When you are near the eggs another speaker clucks and when you are near the meat a speaker moos. How is that supposed to make me buy stuff?

Re:Grr.....

[Anonymous Coward]

it is supposed to make you notice the product, so, theoretically, you won't forget to get some.

Re:Grr.....

[0x0d0a]

There was some killer that got off of eating his victims, part-by-part alive...presumably the screams became associated with food in a Pavlovian-like response and would make him feel hungry.

So I guess if you were like him, the cows would make you feel hungry for cow?

Re:Grr.....

[evilempireinc]

which Kroger? The one on hillsboro? If thats the case, I guess its time to go to Harris Teeters instead

Re:Grr.....

[DrMaurer]

Ahh, well, this is one reason it would never work in america.

Another reason is because the shopping carts will never be put back in the cart corral.

Re:Grr.....

[nuggetman]

Usually the rain noise by the vegetables indicates you have about 20 seconds before the water sprayers get you.

Re:Grr.....

[Anonymous Coward]

53. Crowding, rapid change and the breakdown of communities have been widely recognized as sources of social problems. but we do not believe they are enough to account for the extent of the problems that are seen today.

54. A few pre-industrial cities were very large and crowded, yet their inhabitants do not seem to have suffered from psychological problems to the same extent as modern man. In America today there still are uncrowded rural areas, and we find there the same problems as in urban areas, though the problems tend to be less acute in the rural areas. Thus crowding does not seem to be the decisive factor.

55. On the growing edge of the American frontier during the 19th century, the mobility of the population probably broke down extended families and small-scale social groups to at least the same extent as these are broken down today. In fact, many nuclear families lived by choice in such isolation, having no neighbors within several miles, that they belonged to no community at all, yet they do not seem to have developed problems as a result.

56. Furthermore, change in American frontier society was very rapid and deep. A man might be born and raised in a log cabin, outside the reach of law and order and fed largely on wild meat; and by the time he arrived at old age he might be working at a regular job and living in an ordered community with effective law enforcement. This was a deeper change that that which typically occurs in the life of a modern individual, yet it does not seem to have led to psychological problems. In fact, 19th century American society had an optimistic and self-confident tone, quite unlike that of today's society. [8]

57. The difference, we argue, is that modern man has the sense (largely justified) that change is IMPOSED on him, whereas the 19th century frontiersman had the sense (also largely justified) that he created change himself, by his own choice. Thus a pioneer settled on a piece of land of his own choosing and made it into a farm through his own effort. In those days an entire county might have only a couple of hundred inhabitants and was a far more isolated and autonomous entity than a modern county is. Hence the pioneer farmer participated as a member of a relatively small group in the creation of a new, ordered community. One may well question whether the creation of this community was an improvement, but at any rate it satisfied the pioneer's need for the power process.

58. It would be possible to give other examples of societies in which there has been rapid change and/or lack of close community ties without he kind of massive behavioral aberration that is seen in today's industrial society. We contend that the most important cause of social and psychological problems in modern society is the fact that people have insufficient opportunity to go through the power process in a normal way. We don't mean to say that modern society is the only one in which the power process has been disrupted. Probably most if not all civilized societies have interfered with the power ' process to a greater or lesser extent. But in modern industrial society the problem has become particularly acute. Leftism, at least in its recent (mid-to-late -20th century) form, is in part a symptom of deprivation with respect to the power process.

Re:Grr.....

[Anonymous Coward]

No, the one near South Square. But avoid the near by Harris-Teeter, it has less selection and worse meat. Besides, they are all yuppie elitists there.

Nagging shopping carts

[tomhudson]

More stupid applications of hi-tech. I can see it now. The earplugs are chiming "buy me, and you wopn't have to listen to the stupid peanut butter anymore".

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[Midwedge]

Yeah I can see that this has the potential of being a pain (advertisements constantly playing, like the TV's at Walmart)... Yet I can see some really useful applications.

How about a built in scanner so you can see how much something costs or keep track of how much you are spending?

Or a guide function showing you where a product is.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[aridhol]

How about a built in scanner so you can see how much something costs or keep track of how much you are spending?

Now there's a useful idea. Thing is, it won't happen. If you are shopping and you keep seeing this number counting up in front of you every time you put something in your basket, you'll subconsciously want to keep that number low. So you'll probably buy less than you would if the cost hits you all at once at the register.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[csteinle]

How about a built in scanner so you can see how much something costs or keep track of how much you are spending?

One of the supermarkets in the UK does something like this. Sainsbury's, I think. Even better, they trust you. You carry a barcode scanner with you (there's a holder for it on the trolley), and scan all the stuff you put in your trolley. It keeps a running total on it's screen, and at the check out you just hand over the reader. You need to be a member of their loyalty card scheme, and you do get random manual checks every so often, but it seems like a great queue saver.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[tomhudson]

A real time saver? What a piss-off. I WANT to talk to the pretty girl at the cash register. I'm probably the first person to actually talk to her as a human being since she's gone on-shift. Besides, since she's taking my money, I want at least a smile in return.

Anyway, that's my policy with service people - since some of them are my friends off-hours too.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[elmegil]

It's called a calculator. They're cheep, so this is not a particular barrier to "have nots". Or if you want to be REALLY high tech, you can use a palm pilot.

C'mon people, how damned lazy do you have to be? If you need to track your money that closely, you can do it without the annoying crap. If you aren't already doing so, spoonfeeding it by placing it in the cart isn't likely to help.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[Eros]

Here in Phoenix AZ at least this is in full effect at the local Costcos and Price Clubs (mass warehouse food, and various products companies).

I can go inside. Insert my membership card into a display case and remove a portable electronic scanner to scan my own items. It gives me the last item's price and a total including tax. I can add and remove items easily. Once I'm done I return the scanner to the case and it prints a ticket with the total and a barcode. I go through an express checkout where my cart is weighed and ticket scanned. If the cart's weight is off they take the time to check the items. Otherwise I pay and go.

Not to mention the local markets also have lanes where I can walk up to a scan station and scan everything myself. This allows one employee to monitor 4 scanning stations(that sit in the same space as 2) and allows me to not have my bread sitting under my milk.

The only harm one could possibly see is that it reduces jobs.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[Anonymous Coward]

It is happening in the UK my local Waitrose already offers it and Sainsbury are going to follow suit early next year.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[Jeff Fohl]

You may be right, and I wouldn't be surprised if grocery stores know this, and exploit it intentionally. However, there are always market forces to enjoy. A supermarket that offers this service may become a more attractive place for people to shop, and draw customers away from the stores that refuse to adopt such technologies.

Personally, the reason that I go to the supermarket I go to are (in order of importance):

1. Quality of products and produce
2. Location
3. Price
4. Service (which would include things like the "smart cart" we are discussing.)

Having said that, for me, the smart cart is not on the top of the list, but would definitely have a slight attraction. Who knows? I guess we will see. I am sure some stores are bound to try it.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[great om]

yeah they uses symbol's superior PSS system, which is also quite rugged

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[csteinle]

'Tis voluntary, you know. They only allow people who've been shopping there a while do it, too - they need to trust you. You can flirt with the staff all you want. :-)

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[mickwd]

"I WANT to talk to the pretty girl..... I'm probably the first person to actually talk to her..."

Huh ?

Like guys never talks to pretty girls...

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[tomhudson]

... in a checkout line? Stop and look at most of the people waiting in the checkout line. They don't smile, they look like their dog just got run over, they're only thinking "I want to get out of here!"

The last thing on their mind is chatting up the cashier.

Re:Nagging shopping carts

[dubiousmike]

Its like if you have a car that shows instant gas millage. I had to turn it off as it caused me to drive like a pussy.

:P

Fond Memories

[The Dobber]

The "cost per kill" of Hunting The Silver Buffalo just got higher.

the real reason

[dirvish]

The real purpose is customer tracking. The only reason stores are going to spend money on this kind of stuff is to better seperate customers from their money. If they can profile customers they can better market towards them.

Re:the real reason

[sjlutz]

And profiling customers is a bad thing? Here's my take on it:
1) Advertising isn't going away, it's increasing, we are getting bombarded everywhere, now even in video game.

2) Why not give enough information to the sellers so that they can give me offers that I might actually like?

Example, if everytime I passed the Diaper isle, I was told about the sale on Pampers, I would ignore because I don't need diapers. Worse, it would become annoying. But if everytime I walked down the soda isle and was told Mountain Dew was on sale, I would buy it, even if I didn't need it, because we all know you can never have too much Dew.. For those privacy advocates out there, do you REALLY care that the managers of a supermarket know you buy a pack of pringles every shopping trip? Yes, I do care if the government wants to know, but not some store managers .

Re:the real reason

[scott1853]

They mostly already track you in grocery stores. All the major chains I go to have Club Cards that give you little discounts for certain items, but you know the real reason is to track your buying habits.

I don't think talking peanut butter is there to necessarily track you, but probably to just make you notice it. Sort of like all the stacks of things they put int he middle of the isles to get in your way. It's just so you'll look at it.

Re:the real reason

[bmwm3nut]

i don't care if the store manager knows if i buy a pack of pringles every trip. but i do care if the store manager sells that information to the makers pringles. or if he sells that information to the lays and they start sending me advertisements to get me to switch. i hate advertising, even if it's for something i use. all i want to know when i go to the store is the price of what i want to buy. i'll make my own decision on which product to buy.

Re:the real reason

[kevinank]

The real purpose is customer tracking. The only reason stores are going to spend money on this kind of stuff is to better seperate customers from their money. If they can profile customers they can better market towards them.

That may be the only reason that has any real importance, but most of that information could be inferred from the checkout records. In any case, I tend to avoid stores that try to optimize for customer spending; Pack N Save, and Toys R Us spring immediately to mind, with their forced traipse through aisle of garbage before you are permitted to walk to the aisle that has what you really came in for.

Actually my recent buying has been through online boutiques. The kids toys, clothing, etcetera that you can find in little online web pages goes way beyond the trash posing as products available in Babies R Us.

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

They've had customer tracking since the Dawn of Time(tm). The stockroom gets low, buy more. The advent of the laser reader and the barcode have just simplified this process.

They'll probably implement some sort of timing/GPS system to see which aisle you spend the most time in, or hopefully to see how slow their deli grannies are. Maybe they'll finally figure out that you're actually reading all those magazines instead of buying them.

Re:the real reason

[Ed Avis]

If they can afford to give you a special 10% 'discount' on peanut butter and still sell it at a profit, they're clearly not that keenly priced to start with. The shops which offer the best value for money will not have such special deals targeted at particular consumers, though they might offer volume discounts.

Re:the real reason

[stratjakt]

You don't care until the you get the wrong shopping cart, and it shrieks, at the top of it's digital lungs "HEY, BACKISSUES OF PLAYGIRL ARE ON SALE 2 FOR A DOLLAR WITH PURCHASE OF LARGE DRUM OF VASELINE"

Re:the real reason

[s.a.m]

Actually my company had this idea a year and a half ago. We talked with American Express to team up with them about it. The idea was excellent and in fact we had the basic concept mapped out. Problem with it was we had no funding and resources to do this.

The president and I sat down and worked out the simple logic for it and basically we really don't care what each individual was buying. Our software would determine that and we'd get trends etc, but no one person would ever know what an individual would buy. Unless you specifically asked to see that person's buying habbits.

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

A more direct method for providing people with misleading advertising. Another sign on the disinformation superhighway.

Re:the real reason

[The Visiting Priest]

Yes, profiling customers is a bad thing (for the customer).

You think that if you buy mountain dew frequently that they're going to give you a discount? Dream on. You'll more likely find out that mountain dew is the one beverage that you NEVER get a discount on.

(But their competitors might start offering discounts on stuff you'd never drink in a million years)

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

Marketing and profiling isn't just about meeting your needs better. It's mostly about creating needs. The more data the store has the better it can manipulate you into buying things you never thought you needed before.

Re:the real reason

[TheWickedKingJeremy]

There is no reason why buying preferences need to be stored indefinitely and associated with an individual.

A better way of accomplishing this - if you are putting Gerber baby food in your cart, the computer will tell you that diapers are also on sale because the two items are linked in the store's database. Or, if you are buying the latest issue of Wired, the computer would automatically assume it would be pointless to tell this customer that condoms are on sale in aisle 12. ;)

My point is that advertising can be better focused without having a huge, all-knowing database.

Re:the real reason

[5KVGhost]

That's true, of course. But it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Once upon a time, for example, everyone's shopping habits were "tracked" by the grocer behind the counter. He could easily gauge the buying habits of all his regular customers and make appropriate recommendations. The anonymity of the modern shopping experience is more of an accident than an expectation.

Re:the real reason

[ChaosDiscord]

For those privacy advocates out there, do you REALLY care that the managers of a supermarket know you buy a pack of pringles every shopping trip?

The problem isn't that the manager knows. The problem is that any number of "trusted" employees will know. One or more of employees may be willing to resell (or just give away) your information. Heck, for the right amount of money I'm sure the store will happily sell the information. I for one purchase personal hygiene and pharmacy products at my local supermarket. If I'm a politician trying to appease a rigid Catholic demographic, I might prefer that my political opponents not be able to prove that I purchase of condoms or birth control pills. I'd rather my health insurance didn't have the opportunity to analyze my buying habits of aspirin and antacids to decide if I've become too risky. Or even if my health insurance decides I buy too much junk food, my auto insurance decides that I buy too much alcohol. Or perhaps my opponent for a county board seat will get the information and claim, "Bob sure buys alot of alcohol, are you sure you want someone who buys that much alcohol on the board?" A potential employer might make collecting such information part of their check on me before hiring me.

The probably isn't that the store knows. To the store I'm only interesting as a relatively anonymous consumer. The problem is that once the information is collected that it will become available to other people who may be interested in me personally. There is a serious risk of abuse. If government agents who have been specifically screened for security purposes occasionally decide to abuse the information (like Robert Hanseen, a few Michigan police, amoung other cases), why should I trust the night shift manager at my local supermarket who hates his job at my local supermarket?

Re:the real reason

[theBrownfury]

Its because of reasons like this and this and this that I don't want any sort of profit oriented organization or government collecting information about my lifestyle.

Re:the real reason

[zericm]

But if everytime I walked down the soda isle and was told Mountain Dew was on sale, I would buy it, even if I didn't need it, because we all know you can never have too much Dew.. For those privacy advocates out there, do you REALLY care that the managers of a supermarket know you buy a pack of pringles every shopping trip? Yes, I do care if the government wants to know, but not some store managers .

Guess what Slick, the government wants to know:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/96167_safi re 19.shtml

And even if the governement wants to know, I don't want Safeway collecting information on my shopping habits and then selling that information to other companies. You may be willing to sell your privacy for a few cents off a can of soda, but I'm not willing to sell out so cheap.

thx,
eric

Re:the real reason

[zericm]

That's odd. The URL I pasted in got mucked-up on submission. Here is the URL, one more time:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/96167_safi re 19.shtml

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

Once upon a time, if a grocer talked about me behind my back, he had to fear I might whip his ass. There used to be checks and balances. The people monitoring me today seem to be the only ones with anonymity. This same problem exists in Washington post 9/11.

Re:the real reason

[zericm]

Bugger me, but the slashcode seems to be having troubles with the URL. just remove the space between "safire" and "19.shtml" to fix the URL. Or better yet, do a search for "Poindexter" at google news.

thx,
erci

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah, why would you want to read newspapers when you`re shopping? I dont get it. This is one of those `because we can` things, isn't it!

hey, why not give each tin of beans an ip address then we can...well, we`ll think of something.

Tell you what - why not make shopping faster so we can get the fuck out of the mind-numbingly tedious, over bright, horribly bemuzakked shops and back into real life as soon as possible?

Re:the real reason

[deblau]

1) Advertising isn't going away, it's increasing, we are getting bombarded everywhere, now even in video game.

2) Why not give enough information to the sellers so that they can give me offers that I might actually like?

My response:

1) The Nazis aren't going away, abductions are on the rise, we are getting seeing them everywhere, now even on our street.

2) Why not give enough information to the Gestapo so that they can kidnap Jews at a time that I might actually like?

Do you see anything wrong with your logic now?

Re:the real reason

[elmegil]

Or hell, go look for yourself at the link in my sig.

Re:the real reason

[YrWrstNtmr]

Yes, I do care if the government wants to know, but not some store managers .

With Total Information Awareness, they will both know.

Re:the real reason

[AUsBandit]

SO now they want talking Penut Butter to chace me into the frozen pizza isle?

Then when I stand at the milk fridge cheking for the freshest one it starts saying "moooovalong you are holding up the line"

I wonder if the psycologist have a name yet for the mental phobias that are going to come about from this. Phonaletchaphobia(fear of hearing milk) maybe?

Re:the real reason

[dk.r*nger]

mountain dew is the one beverage that you NEVER get a discount on

Wrong. While your local store might try to pull a trick like this, the store five miles up the road will target you with their discounted Montain Dew - to make you come to and try that store out. And after a while your local store realizes that they are going to loose customers if they keep screwing them...

ahh.. the market regulating itself :)

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

So you're saying that advertisers are eventually going to start kidnapping their customers? What good would that do them? Man, you sure picked the most far-out comparison you could, huh. Must be going for that "dramatic effect".

Pbbtht.... didn't work.

Re:the real reason

[Fascist Christ]

And profiling customers is a bad thing?

Yes. Price Discrimination. I don't get the special deal because I don't go there often enough. Stuff like that.

...do you REALLY care that the managers of a supermarket know...

Yes. They require name, address, phone number, etc, to get the discounts. I guarantee you that way more than just store managers get this information.

Re:the real reason

[clark625]

While I agree with you, I don't think there is any reason to fear companies or individuals making this information available to others. Most grocery stores (for example) really only care that you have their card for profiling--but the name isn't a concern at all. They typically ask for a first name and a phone number (in case they find it on the floor), but even the number doesn't have to be given out. Really, all they care about is tying a unique (or semi-unique in the case of husband/wife) number to product purchases. This allows them to see trends. And if it allows me to get a cheaper price on alcohol, condoms, and feminine hygene products, that's good in my book.

I just really don't see how in the current market stores will ever care to track you by "Doe, John" versus "23786138590". To them, a unique number satisfies their needs and so it's risky to push the boundary further into the realm of privacy. That doesn't mean they will never get there, though--so it's good to be careful.

Re:the real reason

[Tackhead]

> > Yes, I do care if the government wants to know, but not some store managers .
>
>With Total Information Awareness, they will both know.

As much as I think TIA's a cool idea in principle, it fails to address the human factor, and that may be its undoing.

Your grocer will know there's a swarthy-looking guy who says he lives alone, but buys enough groceries to feed a family of four, and he always picks up a case of beer and a few slices of ham, a pack of hotdogs, and a copy of Hustler, which he handles while wearing thick rubber gloves (even in summertime) while muttering something about how hard it is to stay clean in this country of filth as his credit card is cleared.

The properietor of the local anarchist bookstore or Internet cafe will remember something about a swarthy-looking guy who drops by every couple of months ago lookin' for the latest books or textfiles on bomb-making, always paying with cash.

The electronic monitoring systems will have Total Information Awareness of Juan Doe, regular conbsumer of groceries, alcohol, pork products, and pr0n.

When the bomb goes off, it'll be blamed on Hispanic rednecks and/or the Internet, because Juan Doe clearly wasn't a Muslim, but the ratio of the residues in the blast corresponded to a recipe in the Anarchist's Cookbook.

TIA is cool, and will probably be a very helpful tool, but it's not a substitute for HUMINT. The minute our policymakers and policy-implementors lose sight of this fact, we're at risk.

Re:the real reason

[Tackhead]

> I don't think talking peanut butter is there to necessarily track you, but probably to just make you notice it.

Kid: "Grandpa, what was it like when you were young?"

Geezer: "Well, until 2002, we had a word for people who tried to talk about what that jar of talking peanut butter was trying to accomplish. Instead of putting them in charge of grocery chains, we called them nuts, and we locked them up."

Skippy: "It was an unenlightened era. Want some toast?"

Re:the real reason

[YrWrstNtmr]

TIA is cool, and will probably be a very helpful tool,...

No, the real concept is, the government has no business tracking what books I buy!

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

don't know where you're shopping, but at the publix here i can get 2 6-packs of dew for $5.00 and these are the bottles.

Re:the real reason

[kin_korn_karn]

Sorry dude, you totally fucked up your credibility by quoting Ayn Rand in your sig. Why do the people with common sense have to be so enamored with psychopaths?

Re:the real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

Or as in the case mentioned in this article:

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13684

where the store (got to be Ralph's, the bastards) supposedly was going to use the plaintiff's history of buying alcohol against him in court when he sued after he tripped in the aisle.

Re:the real reason

[bnenning]

They typically ask for a first name and a phone number (in case they find it on the floor), but even the number doesn't have to be given out.

All the stores I've gotten cards from wanted a full name, address, and driver's license number. Fortunately, they don't verify any of it.

Re:the real reason

[CMRichar]

There's even a current 'trick' to this one as well.... at the store I work at (Local Store, kinda like a wal-mart only not...), we have custom coupon machines that spit coupons out whenever you buy certain products. trick of it is, is that when you buy something, it doesnt kick a coupon out for what you bought, but for a competing product. so, if you buy say a 2litre of Mt.Dew, it'll kick out a coupon for 7-up.....The concept there is that the store gets paid to give the customer the coupons by the people who make the product (i.e. 7-up pays for the store giving out coupons on their products). Thus, a company's marketing dollars affect the wad of paper i hand you at the end of your order. Thank you and have a nice day... ;-)

Re:the real reason

[sludg-o]

Why did you single out Catholics as being opposed to birth control? I'm Catholic and I try to use condoms, and my wife does her best to remember to take the pill. Double protection has probably saved our lifestyle more thaan once. Sure we have a single head of our church (the Pope for the clueless), but we have not considered his opinions infallibale for hundreds of years.

Re:the real reason

[ChaosDiscord]

Why did you single out Catholics as being opposed to birth control?

My apologies, I meant no offense. I was simply looking for examples and that happened to be something I found. I took sex ed at a Catholic high school, so I'm intimately familiar with the Catholic church's official teachings on the matter. (Not to denegrate the high school, the local diocese wasn't entirely pleased with the high school because it, in part, explained the church's position, then gave clear explanations on the effectiveness of various birth control methods and basically said, "You're too young, but if you're going to, use a condom.")

Sure we have a single head of our church (the Pope for the clueless), but we have not considered his opinions infallibale for hundreds of years.

Interestingly, based on personal experiences, there is an increasingly large number of people who identify themselves as Catholic, but maintain beliefs that go contrary to official church policy. A lot of "the core religion is good, but some of the beuracracy has become detached from the Truth." I place alot of hope in the rejuvination of the church by these people.

(Wow, are we off topic.)

Re:the real reason

[tral]

In our family we all use the same club card number (we just type it in the keypad at Safeway each time instead of having to carry a card). I really don't want my mother-in-law getting meesage like, "Last week you bought condoms. Today Trojans are on sale..."

Re:the real reason

[TheWickedKingJeremy]

I agree, as the post you responded to indicates.

Carts?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who buys that much stuff at once? My store is around the corner, so I always just buy what I need that day.

Re:Carts?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know where you live but that's one thing I've found interesting in my travels. Europeans generally buy for the day or the next couple of days. Back when I was a kid, I remember going with my mom and we'd load up 2 carts. Granted, for a family of four those two carts lasted us a month or so. Just my stupid observation.

Re:Carts?

[TooCynical]

Who goes to the store anymore?? http://www.publixdirect.com

Re:Carts?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't have kids, which is what makes the difference here. Kids mean you have to have tons of food on hand at all times.

Rain Proof

[temp7890]

I hope that they're gonna be rain proof.

Re:Rain Proof

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to mentioned disgruntled cart boy proof. Have you ever seen a teenaged cart boy kick around the shopping carts on payday after seeing how he's been fucked by the government and the union? Not a pretty sight.

Or maybe...

[Anonymous Coward]

Or maybe you can see the bright yellow or red tags that practically smack you in the face to know when somethings on sale, and watching the news for your weather and stock options (hell, get wireless service for your pda/cell if you are that needed for the info), and leave audio out of the supermarket.
Hearing the constant beeps from the cash register can be ignored. Hearing the constant chiming of carts going down aisles would drive anyone insane.

I stopped using shopping carts

[Anonymous Coward]

when I got too big to sit in them.

Shoppings carts with computers..

[MongooseCN]

This gives the side benefit of getting homeless people online.

Re:Shoppings carts with computers..

[_ph1ux_]

back in '99 when all the VC money was flying to anyone with a pulse I tried to start eHobo.com

This was where you could go and get accessories for your carts, get corporate sponsored cardboard housing etc...

We would sell luxury collapsable cardboard condos, a tow strap for your shopping cart that you wore like a backpack (which allowed for hands free mobility!)

for some reason - I couldnt get funding.

Re:Shoppings carts with computers..

[YaRness]

actually that's what public libraries are for, see The Homless Guy blog.

Worth it?

[natron 2.0]

Is something like this really worth it for the consumer? If a grocery store purchases these to replace thier current fleet of shopping carts than perhaps they will have to raise thier prices on their products to account for the price of all those carts. So when you go down the aisle and you see that the peanut butter is on sale, are you really saving money or is the sale price the same price that it used to be before they purchased all those carts?

Re:Worth it?

[DansnBear]

I worked in a supermarket for over 6 years (mostly as a second job to suplement my poor earnings as a student, and doing IT for a school) When ever we got new shoping carts or hand baskets in, they came at no cost to us. If you notice, there has been a new trend of putting ads on the front and sides of baskets and carts. These basicly pay for these items. This new computerized cart system will most likely be subsidised by the "ads" purchsed by companies to further their sales. Do you really think that the stores will spend all this money on their own?

On a side, but related note, What does everyone think the purpose of thos "bonus savings club cards" or shoping cards are for. They make you think that you need them to save money, but the truth is that what they really are using them for is to track your spending, and, now wait for this. . . . target products directly to you. You know those coupons that you get at the register with the red stripe on the top and bottom? Those are generated based on what you just bought, and your spending habits in the past. i.e. - This person always buys 2 cans of Pringles every time he comes, so lets give him/her a coupon for a $1.00 off three. Next time he buys 3 cans, he gets a coupon for $1.00 off 4. This person buys Pepsi, so lets give him a coupon for coke. . . It goes on, and on, and on like this.

These computerized carts are just the natural next step. Alot of things are paid for by marketing money. Why do you think that there are ads on the backs of your recipt? Thats free for the Supermarket too.

I'm not just making this stuff up, I've just been around it long enough to see how it works.

Do we really need this?

[CastrTroy]

Supermarkets can't be bothered to provide carts with properly working wheels. I can't see them being interesting in shelling out the bucks for whatever one of these things would cost

Imagine this

[Minter92]

Somebody inventing something that is actually usefull and isn't just part of the giant corporate machine. Where is the real innovation? Why is everything about sucking our money from us?

Re:Imagine this

[Gizzmonic]

One of my professors once remarked "Being able to click a button and buy something is a pretty piss-poor definition of 'interactive'".

That's just what this article reminds me of.

Re:Imagine this

[Anonymous Coward]

It's called capitalism. In our society, everything is about money, how to get more of it and how to leverage it into political power, or vice versa. Think things are better with communism? Uh uh. Capitalism and communism are just two facets of the same stone-age mentality, only capitalism is better at leveraging greed, so it won out.

housewives

[Anonymous Coward]

interesting idea for technically minded folks... but how many housewives need to check the Dow Jones while grocery shopping?

It's a trick

[sakusha]

It's a devious trick. The grocery stores are making more money selling customer data than groceries. These computer devices can gather more data than ever, as long as you trick people into USING them by offering them bells and whistles, and the consumers won't suspect a thing. These stores want to track how long you spend in each section of the store, how long you stop to browse the shelves, and use that info to data mine your receipts.

Re:It's a trick

[swordboy]

It's a trick

Get an axe!

Just what we need

[Dethboy]

Shopping used to be so easy, go out - kill something - bring it home and eat it. Now we're faced with people yapping on phones, tight aisles, screaming kids and my favorite - those damn discount cards that I need one of for each store (I have none) so I get screwed on my discount. Now I get beeping carts and weather.

Re:Just what we need

[Angry White Guy]

Shopping used to be so easy, go out - kill something - bring it home and eat it. Now we're faced with people yapping on phones, tight aisles, screaming kids and my favorite - those damn discount cards that I need one of for each store (I have none) so I get screwed on my discount. Now I get beeping carts and weather.

Go out and kill the people yapping on phones, bring them home and eat them. Not feeling too hungry, just take a screaming kid. The stigma that goes with being a cannibal will quickly dissipate when the regular shoppers can shop phone yapping, kid screamin', aisle blocking scum free and we just have to put up with the discount cards.

Pleeeeeeze.

[AyeRoxor!]

I remember when Kash n Karry (a redneck we-cant-spell-isnt-it-cute) chain in Florida tried to put simple calculators in the plastic cover of the cart's pushbar. They lasted about a month. Good luck with these. The rain, the abuse, the kids in the kidseats. They had better be solid steel.

Veri-Chip!

[Anonymous Coward]

As you approach your cart, the cart identifies and greets you. As you push the cart with the wobbly wheel, it chides you for buying groceries at a competitor last week.

After you leave, the store transmits your purchases to the dept of homeland security, so Poindexter can determine if you qualify for further observation.

Re:Practical use!!!

[tomhudson]

So, since they're wireless, what's to keep somebody from "war-shopping", skimming the info, and generating their own 100% discount coupons?

I've already figured out how the bar codes worked at the local store, and, if I wasn't honest, I could alter the tickets that bottle refund machines give me to give back $10.00 on a 5 cent bottle.

And no, the cashier would be none the wiser - she just would scan in the altered bar-code, in either scenario.

Shopping List and Tuning Out

[aridhol]

So if you shop with a list (ie you already know what you're going to buy), this will probably be more of an annoyance than convenience. If you are one of the 70% that the article claims buys on-the-fly, it may convince you the first couple of times. After that, you'll probably tune out the sound of the cart. Remember, your cart and everybody else's carts are all trying to get your attention. If there are five people in the aisle, and they pass the sale item at staggering times (or several different items), the computer will just become so much noise rather than a meaningful message.

Re:Shopping List and Tuning Out

[beebware]

How often have you walked into a supermarket with a shopping list and seen something on special offer and "impulse" brought it? "Hey - I know I didn't want any Coke, but it's 4 litres for $2 and, hey, I'll drink it anyway"...

Great Ideas

[stoolpigeon]

(I worked for Safeway for about 7 years but left the industry about 2 years ago)

These are cool ideas that will help businesses cater to their best customers. I don't see what is wrong with that. It is usually a minority of your customers that provide the majority of your business. Keeping them happy should definitely be a priority.

Many of the ideas for the carts are very, very similar to what we we did w/the online shopping that Safeway offers. They've just moved the technology into the store- out of the browser. It is interesting to me that folks would not get so worked up about those things being in place when they are online- but get riled up when it is in the store.

I would be interested in what they do to make the hardware durable.

All Safeway stores already have wireless equipement and a LAN in the store. (we moved from token ring to ethernet here in AZ 5 or 6 years ago)

Cool stuff I think.

.

Re:Great Ideas

[sulli]

So should we wardrive (warcart) in the local safeway?

Re:Great Ideas

[Anonymous Coward]

In a nutshell, here's what's wrong with the idea. It's annoying as fuck. The second my shopping cart shows me a single animated or audiable ad, or speaks a single word "to me" is the day I never shop at that store again.

Re:Great Ideas

[stoolpigeon]

The wireless part is for ordering and also can be used to change prices. But it does not dynamically hand out ips- they are fixed- and there are no extra addresses either. So you would need to get one of the telxon devices off the network- then there is the passwords, etc.

And then there is no connection from that out to the internet. They are connected to T1s that go straight to Salt Lake (least they did when I was there)

.

But it is not for the benefit of the consumer.

[DAldredge]

It is for the benefit of the grocery store so they can collect/mine/sell your shopping habits so they can make extra profit.

Not that I mind a company making extra profit, but they should be upfront about what they are going to do with the data the collect.

I am sure that your insurance company would love to know about all the 'unhealthy' foods you eat so they can raise your rates.

Re:But it is not for the benefit of the consumer.

[beebware]

Plus the supermarket could use it to track customers movements around the store ("Hmm, 5% of shopping carts first went to bread then to milk, but didn't buy anything from aisle 6: maybe if we change the store layout to force them to pass through aisle 6 before they reach the milk...")

How aware of their surroundings will they be?

[teamhasnoi]

When I smash my big rusty shit-van into one at 52 miles an hour will it croak, "Body Work on sale at Dave's this week...helleep meeelee..."

'Cause it's going to be open season on carts that try to sell me shit.

Die, Squeek-Wheel, DIE!

I saw this over 5 years ago

[mackman]

I saw these at a grocery store called 'Schnooks' in Kansas City over 5 years ago. LCD touch screens on every shopping cart which tracked your location. They showed little animations of where to walk to find certain items and showed you the specials for the isle you were on. Don't remember it having local news though.

If I remember correctly, there were little tracking beacons suspended from the ceiling. It was pretty cool then but it apparently never cought on. Can't imagine it will now, although I'm sure the technology is a hell of a lot cheaper.

Re:I saw this over 5 years ago

[HedRat]

Don't remember it having local news though.

Attention Shoppers...this Live Late Breaking News just in...unidentified man bludgeoned to death with a canned ham in aisle 3...

Re:I saw this over 5 years ago

[Anonymous Coward]

Though you have the pronunciation correct, it's spelled "Schucks".

Re:I saw this over 5 years ago

[Buran]

Schnucks. I live in St. Louis. If I were that guy, I'd have had my name changed.

And they did have those carts in my local store for a bit -- I was disappointed when they disappeared, as I had fun goofing with them. They also had digital price displays you could push a button on to get the unit price for something. Those, too, vanished.

You'd think they'd be easier to update than the "by hand" ones, but apparently not ...

Too Expencive

[Penguinoflight]

Shopping carts are just too expencive, your average shopping cart now costs about $100. Granted they're tough, but if they get a proprietary company to do this it will cost at least $400 total per cart, and people do steal these.

Re:Too Expencive

[beebware]

Imagine if the "cart detecting" system was extended out of the store though? Say it covered the parameter of the car park - if somebody did try and steal one, just have the security guard alerted (unless the trolley has an "auto-wheel lock" facility as is being introduced quite a bit here in the UK). Of course, if the person using the trolley used a loyalty card or credit card - you've got their details anyway...

Re:Too Expencive

[LordNimon]

There's an HEB in town like that. They're "extended range" doesn't cover the entire parking lot, so if you go shopping on a crowded day and have to park in the distant lot, you can't push your cart to you car.

PublixDirect

[Drunken Buddhist]

Call me new-age, but I think PublixDirect.com is probably the best innovation so far in grocery shopping. It's easy, it's convenient, and you just have to put away the groceries, and be home when the delivery comes. Although...the possibility of running linux on a shopping cart may be irresistable... ^_^

The really sad thing is...

[KILNA]

I didn't realize I was reading an article about physical shopping carts in the real world. I figured the first line of "walking down a supermarket aisle" was a metaphor. I had the presumption that it was regarding e-commerce from the start, and I was wondering to myself why someone would want to add a piece of hardware to their computer to beep at them when they were in certain sections of a web store. Anyway, I have now come to the conclusion that my working on shopping cart software IRL for so long has caused me to completely lose touch with reality. Its actually kind of liberating.

This is a good thing? Not.

[Morpeth]

Ugh, I agree with other posters - another annoying application of technology. As if there isn't enough noise and sensory overload, I can't even go food shopping without a stupid cart yammering at me about some crap that I probably don't want/need being on sale.

First time I see one of those carts, it's going to have a devasting and destructive accident. They should all be sent to the guys from Jacka*s so they can have fun crashing and destroying them ;-p

Potentially embarassing

[PurpleHigh]

What happens when those chimes start lighting up near embarassing items that sometimes need to be purchased? Or you look around, and everyone is staring at your cart while it announces discounts on Preparation H?

Re:Potentially embarassing

[Anonymous Coward]

"Would you like some ice cream?"

"Yes, I'd love some ass cream."

A real smart cart

[scotay]

I want a cart that will scan my coupons and shopping list beforehand, plan the shortest route to the goods I desire, and scan all of the products I place into it and show me the running total of my purchases.

My cart would communicate my total as I passed through an unmanned register. I bag myself, swipe my debit or credit card, and I'm out of there without getting stuck behind that chatty senior citizen.

Anything less will just be an advertising vehicle to increase store sales than provide better customer convenience.

This is old news....

[nocorvair]

This is old news. A few years ago Delchamps grocery chain (may they rest in peace (went bankrupt)) had shopping carts with a touch screen in a few of their flagship stores (also had valet parking!). The carts would let you know what was on sale, locate products within the store, suggest recipes/ companion items, and play commercials for products on the isle. Doesn't sound like this company is doing anything really that different exept add the web....

Already doomed...

[mseeger]

Hi,

a few weeks ago there were such carts in a supermarket here in Kiel (Germany). You could see customer jump in surprise when those carts started babbling. After a short period of time the customers knew, which carts were equipped with such devices and avoided them. Soon all those carts were removed from the store.

As i even dislike store clerks who try to talk to me unasked, i may not be the right person to judge this idea ;-). But if those carts become standard issue, my wire cutter would too.

Yours, Martin

This isn't new...

[Anonymous Coward]

Almost ten years ago the Basha's grocery stores (ok, some of them) in the Phoenix metro area had stuff like this. It would show you where in the store you were in relation to something that you were searching for, how to get there, what was on sale, etc. I don't think they ever really caught on though.

I did see one of the carts out of range and it (ok, the screen) was bitching to be returned to the store.

So when...

[dr_dank]

the clerk goes into the parking lot to collect the stray carts, he/she will really be making a beowulf cluster of these?

Re:So when...

[CrackHappy]

Now that was funny.

This huge line of carts all stuck together, some kid pushing them toward the supermarket. Suddenly the mass of carts, i.e. beowulf cluster, becomes sentient. "No, please don't take me apart! Don't let those kids ride in me anymore!" "noo... I'm melting, what a world...."

2 modern truths...

[Spoing]

...

Everything will be computerized.

Advertisements will be everywhere.

Along those lines, some local shopping malls are starting to put adds on table tops...as if the floors, walls, and light fixtures weren't enough. The isles in toy stores have toys that speak up and try and sell themselves as you pass by.

How to make our lives worse

[Pac]

I can see all sorts of applications. Diet carts that will ring a bell each time you buy something not in your "allowed list", exposing you to fellowbuyers disapproving stares. Kid carts that will guide any K-12 through the most expensive and/or less healthy section of a supermarket. Spounsored carts, that will talk you to death into buying some products. The last idea can even be enhanced by having paid, add-free carts and free annoying talkative carts (think about many sites we all know). The possibilities are endless. The patience of the general public with novell ways to make them buy more, unfortunatelly, is also endless.

The biggest improvement in shopping carts...

[jea6]

...in the past 100 years is not in making them computerized...it's been making them fun for kids. My local supermarkets have this kind of kid-friendly cart. They are really great. If only more innovations addressed actual needs....

Re:The biggest improvement in shopping carts...

[redbaron7]

Those are downright annoying. More annoying than cell-phones. At least cell-phones only assault your ears. Those things plough through ankles and legs like no-bodies business. (think of an impatient sod in an electric wheel-chair who just ploughs through people)

They're too huge and cumbersome. People who can't decide what they're doing (and slightly older kids who joyride them) just clog the place up. Turning them is difficult (maybe it isn't, but it seems most people pushing them have trouble).

Maybe if the aisles were 2-3 times bigger they might work. Just can't see Albertson's trying that, somehow...

RB

Why this is not well thought out

[(void*)]

Imagine walking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on sale.

This is a silly idea - why would a chime tell me that the peanut butter is on sale. Let me consult the local SF writer and tell you how useless this would be:

• Thousands and ringing chimes all over the place, from telephones to toilet buzzers, and queue whiners, radio static. What a bloody noisy place the supermarket of the future is!
• Suppose we work out this detail. Let's carry on. So what is on sale on the shelf? It is the Planter's peanut butter. NO wait it's the goober's peanut butter. It's the peanut butter jelly. How would I know what gives a chime? Maybe I'll walk back and forth with the cart, figuring it all out.
• And suppose we get past that and find the right item that's on sale. Is it really a sale, or is it just a marketing gimmick?

Online shopping carts already do this!

[mekkab]

I get my codes from www.styleforfree.com www.webbuyingguide.com and www.currentcodes.com

so I get my discounts, the browser gives me ads and stuff, and I get to sit on my duff and do it from home.

They put the shopping cart in the browser, and I think i worked pretty well. But I putting the browser in the shopping cart? Why? Can't they track me well enough through my "Safeway Card"?
They offer discounts so I use it...

So lets see- cheaper tracking through discount cards. A computer that I can spill my starbucks on and break.

Gee, it doesn't sound cost effective.

Re:Online shopping carts already do this!

[Anonymous Coward]

They want you to use your safeway card so that they can price discriminate. People with high incomes will not find it efficient (high opportunity cost) to bother obtaining and using the card, and hence get charged higher prices. Those that have lower incomes find it efficient to use the card. Hence, Safeway captures the maximum value each customer places on food items (at least better than a purely competitive environment). A similar phenomenon is observed with coupons; high income people can't afford the time to clip coupons, and hence get charged more. A prime example of this is cereal coupons, which regularly discount a $4 box of cereal to $2 or less, for those that bother to clip them.

Re:Online shopping carts already do this!

[mekkab]

Yeah, WORD UP on the cereal!
Safeway was selling 5 boxes of honey nut cheerios for $10. WHAT?!?! craziness.

I often think to myself (usually while clipping 3-4 weeks worth of coupons I've let pile up) "is the savings worth my time?" And then I end up saving $15 in coupons and $40 in total savings (not all the time... just sometimes)

I'm still not sure if its worth my time, but I guess its a habit now.

In Other News

[The Dobber]

Unemployed Linux Hippes hack new high tech shopping carts.

With the inclusion of GPS technology, carts are now able to inform thier current owners of vital information:

"Mad Dog 20/20 now on sale at Ben's Liquor, 20th and Main"

"Steam Grate opening available. Off street parking for cart. Cardboard box enclosure optional. Two blocks down, behind library. Ask for Crazy Tux."

Imagine...

[Joel Ironstone]

walking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on salewalking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on sale

Just imagine. What a wonderful world it would be! This is much better than that John Lennon song.

POS Proof of Concept failures..

[VudooCrush]

I currently work for one of the largest grocery chains in the US, in the tech support dept and we have actually tried out this product as a proof of concept idea in a few of our stores. If I can remember correctly it failed horribly. We have tried lots of stuff from self-check-out lanes ( which in a couple stores people actually like, others failed ), to having palm pilot like devices at the deli for ordering sandwich's.. The retail grocery industry is actually a very cool place to work to be involved in some new computer ideas. All day long I support wireless scanning guns (symbol/telxon) which have access point's that have to get rebooted frequently, etc. Although I would have to say I hate IBM 4690's.

Lets make a cart supper computer.

[ip_free]

How about stealing the carts. Hooking them all together to create a supper computer and then take over the world. How about all these homeless people walking around with their high tech carts telling them what is on sale that must be pretty annoying especially if you got no money to buy the stuff. How about who cares. Lets move on to something more interesting.

Re:Lets make a cart supper computer.

[The Dobber]

Hooking em all together would obviously give your the "Beowulf Cluster"

Thanks for the opportunity to actually work that into a post.

Re:Lets make a cart supper computer.

[The Dobber]

In additon:

Linux Hippies resigned to employment as store box boys could now refer to themselves as Beowulf Cluster operators while out collecting the carts.

Re:Lets make a cart supper computer.

[Perplexer]

This post is funnier than you probably intended. "Supper computer" indeed.

Yay "Imagine a computer...."

[stratjakt]

in your shopping cart
in your phone
in your soda
on your t-shirt
on your fridge
on your dishwasher
in your toaster

Enough. Yeah, I can imagine it.. Whoopty do.

Imagine a computer with an LCD screen on your desktop computer.

Even if this was a new application, I really don't need to be informed everytime someone gets the idea to stick a computer into something.

Fuck that...

[Anonymous Coward]

What the hell is she doing out of the kitchen? She could get some fancy book learnin or sumpfin goin' out into the city. Mah wife had some book-learnin, and she up and arr ew ehn dee oh eff tee, runoft!

How'd a hillbilly like you get a 'puter?

Possible unethical use

[toc2]

There is an important issue that needs to be addressed: It is possible, even likely, that stores will offer special discounts to attract customers they KNOW have money to spend by offering discounts. There is a real danger that people who can't afford to buy anything but rice and potatoes will get fewer discounts.

So the system ends up hurting people who have very little disposable income.

Re:Possible unethical use

[NineBall]

This is just one of those times when, all of a sudden, communism doesn't seem so bad.

Is this such a good idea?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this such a good idea? The first thing I think when I see this is, "I wonder what's inside that little thing? Maybe some nice components. I wonder how hard it is to remove from the cart...

These better not cost alot because I can see them disappearing very fast.

Self-locking carts: how do they work?

[dpbsmith]

The Shaw's supermarket in my town has recently introduced shopping carts which carry a placard warning that they will "stop abruptly" and the wheels will lock if you take them outside "the yellow line." I'm very curious, but haven't had the courage to try pushing one past the yellow line to find out exactly what happens.

One of the four wheels in encased in a plastic housing--very compact, only slightly larger than the other wheels. I imagine this contains the locking mechanism.

Does anyone happen to know what the mechanism is or how it works?

Speaking of shopping carts

[Anonymous Coward]

eBay hasn't implemented proxy-bidding shopping carts. I would like to be able to command my AliceBOT, saying "Alice, I need you to go onto eBay and bid upto $30.00 for a dozen roses, bid upto $50 each for 10 Sega Dreamcast consoles for Johny's BEOwulf Xinerama Videowall cluster, and bid upto $75.00 for a Quantum3D Obsidian2 X-24 Graphics Accelerator for myself. Thankyou AliceBOT (your welcome Jim)

At least, that's what I hope AliceBOT can make up for in lack of a feature of a website. Wouldn't that be cool?

Wow. They survived.

[Lenolium]

I used to work directly below this company, and since the operator of the company I worked for, was the wife of the president of Klever Kart, I know most of the people that work there. They started around 1995, and as far as I know, have never sold anything. I was even planning on heading by their office (which is accross the street from the scariest park in Salt Lake City, UT, and right up the street from the abandoned train station.) in the next week, just to hassle the owners. IIRC their devices are pretty huge machines, running Windows CE, and with all the custom application being developed in Delphi, they were crazy little displays, that would play .gif's when they got close enough to a 900Mhz signal that sent out the right ID, and even though it has been working (I saw demos) since 1995, all that I can remember them doing is doing demos in actual stores for a weekend or so, but not actual sales of their devices. So maybe they are actually picking up on sales now, either that, or they got a huge amount of capital invested, and are living off of the intrest.

No wonder they call us "consumers".

[seanadams.com]

I just don't understand. There's all this bullshit in the grocery stores now to collect our personal information and track what we buy, and I don't hear ANYONE complaining.

I used to shop at Albertson's because they were the one store in my area which didn't use the friggin savings cards. They actually advertised this. Now everyone's using the cards, and they're marketing it on TV like it's a good thing for us.

Every time I go to the store, the clerk asks me if I have the card, and I politely say "no, can I use yours?" Sometimes they have a card sitting there, but more often than not, he'll interrogate me as to why I don't want a card. If forced to get a card, I'll either fill out phony information, or I'll check the box that says I don't want to give my info (if there is one). Then I conspicuously forget the card on the counter when I leave.

One time, the clerk was being especially pushy about getting me to sign up for the card. The customer behind me overhead our conversation and butted in "personally, I like the savings." Meanwhile, people in the aisles on either side of me obediently furnished their cards, one after another, from their overstuffed purses and massive keychains. What the hell is wrong with you people?

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[n-baxley]

Here's an idea. Tell the clerk you left it at home and they'll leave you alone. No one is forcing you to get one of these cards. It's not like their going to change the price just for you, and they can already tell what items are popular. I think there are too many /.ers getting really bent out of shape over this. Where's the harm?!

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Arcaeris]

Yeah, the cards are a major hassle. There was a big thing in the past about tracking purchases and selling the information to insurance companies (Shopper X bought 85 cartons of Marlboros and 50 cases of Heineken in the past week) so they could use it to raise raise. However, they don't verify names and such when signing up (at least they didn't), so I didn't have a problem with getting one.

I always offer to let cardless patrons use my card when I'm behind them in line, because it's absolutely insane to shop at Ralph's without it - they'll gouge the shit out of you.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[LordNimon]

As long as you don't pay with cash, they can already track you via your credit card number or check routing number, so what difference does it make?

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not people's fault they're vulnerable to the sorts of methods designed to take advantaeg of them. The whole marketing game has psychology at it's core. A science that learned man's vulnerabilities in order to assist with them, has been corrupted to use those vulnerabilites as a weapon which to bludgeon people into decisions they wouldn't have made if left to their own devices.

I guess it's some kind of perversion of the free market. Where freedom to choose is being displaced by vulnerability to suggestion. And it's hard to resist the suggestion when marketing companies have a database about you which allows them to focus on your weaknesses and then hammer on them.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[elmegil]

It doesn't aggregate the same way because of limitations on what they can do with records of your credit card number. If they keep a persistent record of credit card numbers and it gets cracked, there's a lot more liability involved for them.....

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[seanadams.com]

It doesn't aggregate the same way because of limitations on what they can do with records of your credit card number. If they keep a persistent record of credit card numbers and it gets cracked, there's a lot more liability involved for them.....

Ever heard of a hash?

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[LordNimon]

They can just apply a hash to the number. I don't think the discount cards are about tracking as much as they are about tricking the customer into shopping at the same store repeatedly.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Skidge]

How about starting up a grocery card distribution service? Not sure exactly how it would work, but you could have a way of picking up a random card before entering the store and returning on the way out. The store would get some innaccurate information and you'd get your "discounts". Or, even better, just have one card shared between a hundred people. Then you'd spend enough in no time to get the free Thanksgiving turkey.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[UpLateDrinkingCoffee]

The problem that I have with this system is not that a single store is keeping track of what I buy... I gave them permission to do that and in return they offer me sales, etc.

What really bothers me is these stores selling this information to third parties. The right to privacy has not dissapeared and I should be able to decide who I reveal information to and who I don't.

In some ways the precident has been set with the credit rating bureaus. It's only a matter of time until TRW starts brokering purchase pattern information.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Anne_Nonymous]

>> What the hell is wrong with you people?

"MMMmmmmmoooooooooooooooo!"

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[elmegil]

There's a good idea.

Either

• They use a perfect hash which is trackable backwards to my card number, or
• They use an imperfect hash, which confuses me with the porn addict down the block.

Brilliant idea. Or do you really expect that the people writing the software to do this care enough to statistically analyze the number of customers that are likely to come up with a "good enough" hash? I don't.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Anonymous Coward]

No one is forcing you to get one of these cards.

No, but it sure sounds like there's lots of coercion and overbearing pressure to get one of the damn things.

Where's the harm?!

Think of it this way - what's so special about the card that it justifies cardholders getting savings on certain products? How does the company benefit from encouraging people to carry yet another piece of plastic after handing over somewhat detailed personal information? It can't be something as mundane like simply tracking what products are popular. Simple in-store tracking of ordering, inventory and sales can determine that, and you don't need to slap customers with a unique ID to determine that information.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[chas.capwell]

Except routing numbers are unique to BANKS not inidividuals.

Unless you mean account number, which is unique to individuals. Usually.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[n0tqu1tesane]

Speaking from the other side of the register, these "savings" cards are just as annoying to the cashier. It just adds one more thing for us to have to worry about. It leads to irate customers, people who don't want/have the cards blaming us for them not getting the "sale" prices. I have worked/work for two different companies that have used this "savings card" nonsense. One of them actually sold the collected customer information to other companies, the other actually has a box you can check to not recieve information from them, and a rather detailed privacy policy stating they will not sell your information. I see these cars as having two main effects. One, it allows the company to track who's coming from where to shop in the store, and use the data collected to tailor the products that the store caries for the specific area its in. Two, its just a plain hassle for both the cashier and customer, causing more discontent than its worth. But then again, those who implemented the system rarely ever have to deal with its effects on the cashier-customer relationship, so it really doesn't matter to them.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Jon Abbott]

Here's an idea. Tell the clerk you left it at home and they'll leave you alone. No one is forcing you to get one of these cards. It's not like their going to change the price just for you, and they can already tell what items are popular. Where's the harm?!

The problem with this approach is that it sound too much like what Wesley and Robin did in the ST:TNG episode The Game. Everybody was addicted to "the game" except for Wesley and Robin. At one point they had to wear non-functional game headsets to fool others into thinking they were hooked.

Although nobody is forcing you to get a shopping card, there is social pressure when everybody around you makes you feel bad for not having one (the original poster mentions this). We should not be exerting social pressures on each other for something as cheesy as a shopping card.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[seanadams.com]

A hash doesn't HAVE to be shorter than the key. It can be equally unique.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Tackhead]

> There was a big thing in the past about tracking purchases and selling the information to insurance companies (Shopper X bought 85 cartons of Marlboros and 50 cases of Heineken in the past week) so they could use it to raise ra[tes].

I dunno about the beer, but I think the 85 cartons of Marlboros would be of more interest to the IRS than the insurance company :)

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[elmegil]

Did you read the first point? If it's equally unique, there is theoretically possible that it's mappable back to my credit card number. Just look at the "hash" algorithms used by the censorware companies for a prime example of how companies tend to use the easiest hash, not the best.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Anonymous Coward]

The store is not the one selling the information. Catalina Marketing is. They don't even use cards, they read who you are from your checking account number, credit card number, or debit card number, and then use it to cross refrence at other places that you shop. Any place where they have the little "check-out coupon" printer they are doing this. Take a look at the pantents that they own.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[E-Rock]

Fill the form out like you do an on-line form, creatively. Now all they know is that the wallet carrying store card number 764839201 buys coke and steaks every time he comes in and only buys the chocolate milk when it's on sale.

Re:No wonder they call us "consumers".

[Anonymous Coward]

that's why the cards are (generically) called "loyalty cards" and the store runs a "loyalty program."

Homeland Security Passes Senate

[Anonymous Coward]

welcome to the New America. Having so much power moved to so few people wouldn't be as troubling if history wasn't so illustrative about what people do when given such power.

Think of it this way. A program has been inserted into a computer. The coputer is going to run it the same way as it always has.

The intentions of people cease to be relevent when they are presented with power strong enough to turn their hearts black.

Sweet!

[grub]

[rolling down the aisle]
*beep*
cart: "Your girlfriend needs tampons, see the specials on Tampax in aisle 5."
you: "She does? Already? It seems like yesterday..
cart: "Seeing as you're not getting laid tonight, check out the sale on golf balls in aisle 2."

Right...

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't even find a cart that has 2 good wheels, much less 4. Somehow I doubt I'm going to find one that is charged up with a uncracked screen. The only people that will truly like this is the crew from Jackass that will no doubt feature this in their show. Can't wait. =)

This could be a great thing!

[Ethanol]

As a friend of mine suggested, if we port linux to run on these things, and work out some kind of wireless net access, shopping carts could become an even more versatile tool for homeless people than they already were.

Re:This could be a great thing!

[DrewCapu]

Now if only someone could come up with a hack that'll disable that locking mechanism once you remove the cart from the parking lot

Reminds me...

[Varkoth]

... of Minority Report. Eye scanners try to personalize advertising, and shout out to you from the product and whatnot... Not too far off if this shopping cart idea ever takes off.

please god make it stop

[savetz]

This sounds insufferably irritating. Grocery stores already have blinking LEDs to attract your attention to bright automatic coupon dispensers, giant ads plastered to the floor to direct you to Pepsi and Doritos, "Got Milk?" stickers on the bananas, ads plastered to the front of carts, video screens to infotain you while you wait in line, and ads on the receipt. Just let me shop in peace.

Happy Vertical People Transporter redux

[Anonymous Coward]

If I came across a basket/cart that tried to inform me in such a manner I would:

a: try to find a basket/cart without such features, OR
b: vandalize the basket/cart so it no longer informed (on) me, OR
c: fill out a complaint form and go elsewhere.

I would refuse to use them for reasons of privacy and aggravation.

The title is a reference to the HHGTTG. These shopping baskets/carts would probably suffer the same fate.

Coward 312-123

Checking your stocks...

[Jippy_]

Actually, it might help with your shopping decisions...

"My tech stocks are doing great! I need some chips."
[check stocks]
"Ohh! Gourmet Potato Crips!"
[check stocks]
"Hmm.. Maybe Ruffles instead"
[check stocks]
"Oh.. This no name brand looks good.. "
[check stocks]
"On second thought, that opened bag in the discount bin might be best..."
[check stocks]
"Dang... Anyone wanna buy a shopping cart?"

Re:Checking your stocks...

[Triv]

First, let me say that I truly appreciate the humor...but it got me thinking. :)

[deep breath]: I WANT TO BE ABLE TO THINK. I don't want information, ads or not, pumped at me 24/7. I don't want to be able to check my stocks or get the sports scores at the grocery store, I WANT TO BUY FOOD FOR DINNER AND GO HOME. I want to be able to live in my head for ten minutes while I pick up ground beef and hamburger helper. I don't want the CONVENIENCE, I don't want to SAVE TIME. Goddamnit, I can think for myself and I really don't care what coca-cola thinks I should be drinking with dinner tonight. There is a certain pleasure to cruising down a supermarket aisle, humming to myself and thinking about stuff. Shit like this is why I don't watch TV.

So in short: LEAVE ME ALONE!

[phew] ;)

Triv

Re:Checking your stocks...

[Jippy_]

but it got me thinking

Ackpth! I'm truly sorry. :)

Stuff stuff stuff.... I don't want to be able to check my stocks or get the sports scores at the grocery store, I WANT TO BUY FOOD FOR DINNER AND GO HOME... stuff stuff

I couldn't agree more. I hate shopping enough as it is.. I can't imagine stores being crowded with schmucks wandering around getting the latest basketball score every time they go to a new isle. [shudder]

nothing new

[night_flyer]

a local store did the same thing about 3 years ago, they broke within the first 6 months and were not replaced.

Well,

[Morologous]

I hope I'm not bucking the trend here, but I like this idea. I mean, it sounds to me like a interactive store circular. Now all they need to do is get it to answer questions about where they've hidden the salsa this week, or if I can actually get a decent porterhouse.

Re:Practical use!!!

[beebware]

Proper barcodes shouldn't allow you to do that. The barcode "number" should only relate to a database entry which then should give information such as price/discount details. Barcodes do not (or should not) contain any pricing information of any sort (see how barcodes work)

In your scenerio, you should need to alter the barcode to reflect another database entry corresponding to the discount you are after (and I'm sure/hope the store doesn't sequentially allocate discount codes) AND get it past any fail safe systems the EPOS has in place ($0.05-$10.00: reject) AND hit on a discount code which at least slightly reflects the product description (say the discount voucher was for a bottle of shampoo and you just happen to hit on a $30.00 off champagne voucher - then the till-operator should spot the difference). Oh: don't forget the checksum at the end of the barcode as well.

If you can get away with this as easily as you make out - well, that store is just about asking to be ripped off: so name it here so they can be Slashdotted in a physical sense (imagine loads of geeks hitting the same store chain with faked vouchers :) )

OHHH yea free parts...

[Anonymous Coward]

Never gona happen. Stores allready have problems with carts being taken but carts with tasty electronic componets? Oh yea.
THe cart boot hasn't stoped theft. These things are going to be SO gone.

IT'S "AISLE" NOT "ISLE"!!

[Anonymous Coward]

An isle is an island.

Re:IT'S "AISLE" NOT "ISLE"!!

[Anonymous Coward]

An isle is an island.

No man is an island.

Will Wil Wheaton please stand up?

[Havokmon]

More than 70 percent of consumers decide what to buy when they're at the grocery shelf, according to Klever Marketing, the Salt Lake City-based company that's developing one of the most elaborate tech carts.

Maybe Wil can come up with a better name for the 'Klever Marketing' company. :)

What about your toilet

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that would be really usefull, provided it performs a full spectral analysis on all your waste
"Geez, pal, you had a greasy burger again? You'll never lower your cholesterol.."

Re:What about your toilet

[stratjakt]

It sure would make a great dumpsite.

Re:What about your toilet

[ip_free]

I am on a diet and more stuff seems to come out then go in. Where is it comming form ? I bet this toilet could tell.

Oops, pardon me, my bad, excuse me, coming through

[Oliver Wendell Jones]

At the Kroger grocery store nearest to my home, when they opened, they had LCD panels attached to the grocery carts with a roughly 11" diagonal screen.

There were some sort of sensors on the top of the panel (IR maybe?) that would receive information from transmitters suspended from the ceiling in each aisle.

The carts would let you know which items were on sale in that aisle, could provide a map of the store or direct you to specific items that you were searching for.

The big problem was that everyone who brought their kids shopping let their kids push the carts so they could play with the displays, and the kids wouldn't watch where they were going (some of the adults didn't, either!) and so they would constantly be running into each other, knocking into displays in the aisles, etc.

After about 3 months, they gave up and removed all the displays from the carts and I've been able to shop safely without worrying about someone ramming a cart into my achilles tendons every few minutes...

I personally don't miss them and I'm glad to see them gone.

OT: spelling

[lightspawn]

Kash n Karry (a redneck we-cant-spell-isnt-it-cute)

Typical elitist attitude. Why shouldn't words be written the way they sound?

The letter 'c' is sometimes used as an 's' and sometimes as a 'k' - both redundant and ambiguous. The letter 's' is sometimes used as a 'z'. Look at "close" and "close" - two different words with different consonants written using the same letter, making the entire spelling the same. WTH? I love languages that have a well defined mapping between textual and aural representation of words (Italian's great). They also make it easier to write text-to-speech and speech-to-text software.

P.S. Moderators: save your points. No need to moderate this as insightful only to have somebody negate it with an off-topic.

Re:OT: spelling

[Greedo]

Damn right! Otherwise, I might get "Cash and Carry" confused with "Sash and Sarry", which only sells Indian women's clothing.

Re:OT: spelling

[Angry White Guy]

Tipikal eletehst attitud. Why shooden't words bee writtehn the way thay sownd?

Yoo sir ar an ideot.

Re:OT: spelling

[Rhubarb Crumble]

even more OT, but it has to be done... A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling by Mark Twain For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all. Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli. Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

Re:OT: spelling

[FunkSoulBrother]

Thats quality humor... I'd mod it up if I hadn't turned off the ability to mod casue it crashed my laptop what with the 500 Pull-down Menu Widgets and all.

Re:OT: spelling

[FunkSoulBrother]

Is anyone a little depressed that this was modded down as "flamebait"?

I can't wait to hack it to run linux & apache

[asscroft]

post a link to it on slashdot and watch it get destroyed.

Seriously though, what alternative uses can you think of for this computer?

Imagine WHAT?

[The Mainframe]

Jesus christ! That's the scariest thing I've ever heard!
AAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I can just see the movies: The shopping cart massacre.

Slashdot uses "and", "or", other cinjunctions

[91degrees]

Leaving out conjunctions is one of those horrible practices only practiced by lower quality tabloid journalism. Any decent sub editor would be crucified for doing that.

It just makes it harder to read with a benefit of saving 2 bytes.

Killer App: Shopping list display on cart:

[mekkab]

let me beam my shopping list from my PDA/cell phone to the cart. Its annoying running around a store with a Visor in 1 hand and the cart in the other.

Let me look at the list and check items off.
If you want to get crafty- tell me what aisles my products are in and tell me what sales you are having.
To make it even craftier- add that UPC scanner, and let me scan in my cupons- THEN have the cart tell me which one is cheaper.

All I react to are "sales" and the sales associated with the club card. If Diet Pepsi is on sale I'll buy that instead of diet coke, and vice versa. I have relatively little brand loyalty so gear your advertisements in a way that works.

Re:Killer App: Shopping list display on cart:

[dcavanaugh]

Beaming your shopping list from a PDA is a cool idea, but the stores really don't want you thinking too much about your list. They would prefer you spend the time walking past as much stuff as possible. The brands with the best margins are positioned at eye-level, with the hope of you going off-list and buying stuff impulsively.

I consistently spend less when I shop than when my wife does, even though she prepares the list either way. If it's not on the list, it's not in the cart. I also do the math, so that coupons for expensive brands are used only when the actual price beats the store brand.

The grocery store is filled with opportunities to make sub-optimal buying decisions -- two of my favorites:

1. "Decoy" items that look exactly like the items on sale, to be sold at high prices when the "real" sale items run out.
2. "Sales" where the price is just the regular price (except advertised prominently, so as to look like a bargain).
3. Scanner "errors" that consistently favor the store -- this happens ALOT, and the pattern of error is PREDICTABLE

You will never see the stores provide any technology that helps you evaluate prices. If they had their way, the only price you would get is a total for the entire cart!

Re:Killer App: Shopping list display on cart:

[mekkab]

I don't doubt it...

My argument was that I appreciate sales (Yes, I clip coupons and I do the math, but not on my pda. I gotta keep sharp somehow!) and typically the Club Card savings ends up being better than what I can do with a coupon (the best is when I use the two in conjunction!)- the end result is I usually buy what they are telling me to buy.

But I don't care if they give the illusion of choice or not.

I need an electronic shopping list. Give me that, and I'll spend all my money at your store; impulse buy or not.

old.

[_ph1ux_]

They did this ten years ago at a grocery store I worked at in high school. that was is '93.

It didnt last very long at all...

We already covered this

[gabec]

Didn't we already cover this? Right after Minority Report came out (where they did this) I thought we had an article that said essentially "yes it's annoying as fsck and it's coming to a grocery store near you!"

PDA Interface

[aridhol]

Here's an idea that may make it useful (IMHO)

Have an interface where you can plug your PDA. I generally write my shopping list on my Palm. Plug it into the cart, and let it tell me where everything is this week, and the price I can expect to pay for my list. I don't have to waste time looking up and down the aisles (I can never remember where anything is there), and I know approximately how much I'll be spending.

However, I don't see this happening. If I'm not browsing to find item X that I want, I won't see item Y that they're trying to push on me. And, as I said in a previous post, we won't see price-adding on them because the rising number will scare alot of customers.

Are they serious?

[Shadow Wrought]

A couple of points on this.

Point one is that in reading the preceeding comments it would appear to me that the majority of the posters find this idea to be somehwere between misguided at best, or downright dumb at worst.

Point two is that in my overall slashdotting experience (which is still limited granted) I have found that slashdotters care about technology and will support something merely because it involves technology.

The final point would be that due to the fact that slashdotters tend to embrace technology ( a generalization I know, but bear with me), and that their reaction to this technology is negative, I have a hard time believing that this is going to work as well as the marketers may believe.

Since its double coupon day, I'd say that this is my $0.04.

Re:Are they serious?

[krinsh]

Since its double coupon day, I'd say that this is my $0.04.

It is always double coupon day at my local Martin's.

Seriously, I suspect - and I'm making a HUGE generalization here about /.ers - that we embrace the tech itself - wi-fi/802.11b tablets connected to shopping carts are a cool idea. In fact; haven't there been tiny video screens or something like those "shifting picture" ads been attached to carts before?

I believe the negative reaction is the commericialism - the feeding of ads to you - and the data collection this sort of device may provide to 'corporate overlords'. There is a strong anti-capitalism trend (did I say that?) - and that is ONLY my opinion - and it manifests itself against anything that could remotely be seen as government or corporate meddling in privacy or personal data.

I can't fault anyone for that at all.

BUT -- I want coupons for my favorite foods and I elect to have these things provided to me - just like I tell the clerk in the electronics section that I'll come get them when I'm ready to ask questions; pester me before then and I'll leave. If I don't want to be bothered; I don't use the card or I don't click to get the free sample. If you can elect to use the device or not; then I see no problem with it - if you must use it to shop then I see the store adopting them closing down very quickly because even people that want such 'amenties' don't often want them shoved down their throats.

I hope I got all that right and no one sanctimoniously corrects me this time.

Re:Are they serious?

[krinsh]

OK capitalism should not be equated with advertising bombardments, rampant commercialization of every aspect of life; etc. Maybe anti-capitalism was the wrong word but I am often concerned that there is a deep-seated hatred in or near my generation for anything considered "Corporate" or "government". By all means; emphasize the individual but stop hammering down on everyone for trying to make money. [I didn't say steal I said earn].

Re:Are they serious?

[Shadow Wrought]

Wow. You pretty much said everything I was trying to say but couldn't quite get out there. Regardless of moderation, an excellent post.

I think the distinction is clearer to me now. I could sort of see it before, but it makes better sense. Thanks!

Re:Are they serious?

[Shadow Wrought]

I think the distrust started with Watergate. It turned a lot of people off from the government and that distrust has seeped into the current generation as well.

I agree that capitalism is all about what getting the most money as you can, but I think it is being abused by a lot of companies these days. This may be overly simplistic and/ornaive, but I think the idea behind capitalism is that to succeed you had to do your best. If you wanted to sell a product it had to be better than everyone elses to compete. An excellent theory at that.

This may be part of the distrust showing itself, but it seems companies have stopped going by what is going to be the best product to a theory of how do I sell this to people and get them to buy it on the highest margin? It may not be stealing, but it certainly would seem to utilize a shady area surrounding truth.

I guess the question would then be what "earning" means. If you can get someone to buy an inferior product with slick marketing, does that mean that you've earned it the same way that someone who has sold the superior product has earned it? Frankly, I don't know. I see a good deal of positives and minuses to both argumetns along with a whole google of extenuating circumstances.

Interesting thought problem at the least though.

Re:Are they serious?

[krinsh]

This is one my marketing assistant buddy - not sales he will adamantly tell you, marketing. Our semi-weekly chat will have to go over this one.

Does anyone care to pipe in about the distrust bit starting with Watergate? I think it happened right around that time; but I think the government's bullet to the foot that was trust started a little before that - maybe a little post-WWII, maybe a little right before Watergate - but I don't have my whole US history timeline right in my head. Wasn't Vietnam right in that set of years? I think a lot of mistrust in our government has simmered since the Civil War; pointing to some of the reasons we had one in the first place.

I know someone out there has done some comparisons with ads from the 50s and 60s up to ads from today, and I think like you that the question of "is it because their jingle is cooler?" often enters into the equation.

BUT - I think it enters into the equation for the masses; those of us that run from cost-consicious to feature/price/durability conscious, etc. may not get deterred by said marketing assault and obviously many are turned off by it. Look at those who go out of their way to avoid buying anything they see advertised. However; this doesn't factor in that you shop for a new car differently than you shop for trash bags - unless you have some kind of thing about the way you close them or have trouble with breakage, etc. but I'm off on a tangent now.

Tracked customers hurt us all

[fleener]

I stopped shopping Safeway when they abandoned print coupons in favor of the trackable discounts that are only available via their ID card, er I mean "membership" card.

The benefit of the ID card is that, with testing, a store can raise its prices to just below the point where a majority of people stop buying. The bottom line is that if you use the card, you contribute to higher prices for everyone.

I remain capable of looking at the in-store sales tags that are placed next to, or on top of, the existing shelf price tags. I don't need or want a talking shopping cart, nor do I want everyone else's carts creating noise pollution.

Re:Tracked customers hurt us all

[dirvish]

I try not to shop at Safeway since they implemented those cards. I really don't like them tracking my shopping and I agree that they are not meant for convenience and will eventually only lead to higher prices. More info about the cards

Re:Tracked customers hurt us all

[Jaycatt]

Last time I was at Safeway, they didn't force you to use the card. Albertson's has them now too, but they are also optional. I guess it's a price you have to pay for privacy (a little more on purchases at those stores). Paying for privacy isn't anything new.

There's some palm software out there like this...

[krinsh]

and I haven't heard it take off yet except from people that buy the regular software to make their grocery lists. *However* - if I could take my list on disk to the grocery store; or do the same with my coupons; maybe even scan everything myself as I put it into my cart; I think I'd like something like this.

If the whole thing were non-intrusive; regardless of the gimmicks - by this I mean ads didn't ring you or start flashing [and making your eyes and stomach hurt] then this might be a good thing. The trick to the cards is that even though they track your purchases and offer you a string of coupons based on competing products or your buy 3 get 1 free of the one you regularly buy; they are a one swipe thing. My wife already does a lot of the non basic foodstuff shopping - that is, for meal kits and such not produce/sugar/bread - entirely based on her coupons/SmartSource/ StartSampling.com, etc.; why not make it a little easier for her?

worthless

[elmegil]

This sounds about as useful as the java enabled gas pumps at BP/Amoco, that allegedly let you check weather, traffic, etc. while you're pumping gas. Sorry, but I get back into my car to listen to the radio for those things--it's more comfortable, and more reliable. There's nothing like seeing your gas pump spew a huge java stacktrace (the good news is that it doesn't affect the transaction of buying gas, it just blows up the browsing functions).

It would make a nice mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

it has a wide LCD display, an up button, a down button a red button and a green button.

I'd be satisfied...

[CommandNotFound]

...with a cart that had all four wheels in proper working order.

Theift

[McFly69]

Oh great... not only we have welfare people stealing carts but now we will have computer /.ers snaging the carts in hope of modding the device. I can see it now..... ./ers attaching a HD and a network card to the unit. Then installing linux and over-clocking the fsck out of it to play Divx and Mp3's.


Why do I have the feeling, that I just created an idea for a new /. story? ;)

Re:Theift

[AceCaseOR]

You know, I'd lay odds that this system will probably only be used on shopping carts in more expencive grocery stores that use baggers (like Hagen's) and in places where the chances of theft are lower (like the 'burbs).

FIX YOUR POST!

[Anonymous Coward]

It still has stray references to "Mr. Kelly"! Let's take a little pride in our work!

Wobbly Wheels

[9jack9]

I just want them to fix those wobbly wheels.

Why?

[derch]

Why do we need yet another stream of information vieing for our attention?

The last thing I want is to have a screen on the cart telling me the Dow closed 10 points up and Israel killed Palestinians while it's also trying to sell me Cheerios and Prego. If I want to know the news, I tune to NPR on my way to and from the grocery store. I also don't want to be shopping in a nice peaceful bliss, picking up some Krispy Kremes, splurging on good beer, to find out about the latest tragedy.

I dread WalMart getting these - all the red, white, and blue fake patriotism while they advertise the latest crap movie now available on DVD.

Let me make a correction...!

[krinsh]

The software is *like* this... but maybe not. The software is to let you make your shopping list but the grocer can take your shopping list and put it on his device and help you or ring up just what you have on the list, etc. At least that is what I last read. It is PalmBasket http://www.palmbasket.com IIRC.

Anyhow the point of this exercise is that even that hasn't taken off yet if I recall. There are too many people out there with little yellow notepads and Ziplocs or accordion coupon holders yet; and they won't "migrate" any easier than your users do when you give them automation.

Never mind cannibalism.

[Anonymous Coward]

Just grind a screaming kid down real fine and you've got dog food and cat food (and even fish food if your fish are carnivorous)!

New TV commercial....

[McFly69]

"Dude, your getting a shopping cart!

But how long will they last?

[seafoodbuffet]

From an earlier article on Wifi Triangulation being used for this purpose, I recall my first impression being, "Yeah right, these things can't last". Seriously, the shopping carts at my local supermarket are already pretty beaten up and they were designed to be fairly robust. Add in some fragile electronics, an 802.11 antenna, and some batteries, I doubt this stuff will endure weather and rough treatment for very long. How can this be feasible for stores unless they plan to spend a fortune maintaining these things?

A better suggestion.

[jinx90277]

I don't need suggestions for peanut butter or laundry detergent -- I have those covered.

What I really need is a system that will suggest effective pick-up lines for that cute lady in the frozen food section, triggered by her buying preferences:

(if she's buying Lean Cuisine frozen lasagna) "Hi. You look great! Do you work out?"

wonderful applications for this

[calethix]

1. give it internet access so we can keep up with slashdot while grocery shopping 2. install a gps tracker so stores can find all the stolen carts sitting out in an open field or being used to carry all of someone's possesions 3. now those people mentioned in #2 get free internet access too! seriously though, my walmart used to have shopping carts with calculators (which I thought was kind of handy) but they got rid of all of them for presumably a good reason... so why would they get shopping carts which are even more complicated

My 2 cents...

[PinkFloyd]

I think one reason these shopping cart gadgets like calculators and computer never catch on is dirt.

Consider your own keyboard/mouse. I'm sure they're filthy. Mine are. Now imagine hundreds of different people all rubbing their dirty digits over these keypads. Yuck.

Of course, the handles on shopping carts get that dirty too, but with a keypad, it just looks disgusting.

You're wrong

[mookoz]

I've been using the Symbol Tech PSS system at my grocery store on a test basis.

http://www.symbol.com/products/consumer_systems/co nsumer_pss_ls.html

First of all, who actually does grocery shopping thinking "okay I'm only going to spend $20 today". If you need stuff, you need stuff. The scanner has made me more comfortable shopping, at least I know what the bill will be before I get to the checkout.

Secondly, if you DO go shopping with a fixed amount like that, I think the scanner is more useful knowing how close you are to your total, instead of being surprised at the checkout and then having to ask the cashier to take stuff back. Not a pleasant moment for either party.

Symbol's website claims that people spend *more* when they know what their accurate running total is, since they can get closer without running over. I think they might be closer to right than you are.

If you care about one, you'll care about the other

[Stoutlimb]

"Yes, I do care if the government wants to know, but not some store managers ."

Would you care if store managers knew, when soon there will be a law requiring them to pass this on to the government? It's about to happen, if it hasn't already. Soon corporate spying will be an intermediate step to government spying.

Privatization is more efficient, after all.

Bork!

Grocery shopping drives me insane

[Y-Crate]

I worked in a grocery store for a while (Kroger) and shopped there as well.

I cannot even begin to explain the intense, mind-numbing rage I felt after hearing the same, mind-numbing ads on the PA system every minute of every day for months on end.

"OMG, I'm BOB BUTLER! This is 'SmartSource Radio'!"

Gahhhhhhhh

There was this one ad for "Fresh California Asparagus" that would literally play nonstop for months. It took all the willlpower I had not to rip the entire PA system from the wall and throw it under the wheels of some Idiot Housewife's SUV, letting it's boundless stupidity be shattered by the same stupid customers that drove everyone insane.

I think if this, and other new methods of advertising in grocery stores takes hold there will be a mass-uprising of employees driven mad by their endless exposure to marketing BS.

Now, I shop at Aldi.

ZERO in-store advertising. The ultimate in no-frills shopping. They make you pay for the grocery bags and put a deposit down on a cart you take for crying out lout.

But, you do pay next to nothing for really, reallly good no-name brand food.

Just because...

[Anonymous Coward]

it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.

Old Technology Sucks

[241comp]

I'm really amazed at the number of "ten years ago this technology sucked so it must still suck" posts. Open your eyes - ten years ago PC hardware "sucked" (as did *nix) compared to what they are today. You have to realize that technology changes.

the killer feature

[cr@ckwhore]

The killer feature for this shopping cart (at least for me) would be a search function... the ability to search for a food item, and then show me where the item is located in the store.

One more thing to break

[szquirrel]

I remember when a new state-of-the-art supermarket opened near my house. They even had calculators on every shopping cart (actually not a bad idea).

One year later, good luck finding one that still worked. Electronic crap breaks, and it's not worth the constant cash outflow for a store to keep 500 gadget-laden carts in good repair.

Yeah, that's a nice idea but...

[bigmouth_strikes]

...howabout they figure out how to make it virtual ? We need online grocery shopping with deliveries so that we don't have to spend our time doing the neverending shopping ourselves.

There has got to be a way to arrange it so that the customers can share the delivery costs and still save money compared to driving their own vehicle to the supermarket.

I can't believe WebVan blew a billion dollars on this.

Re:Yeah, that's a nice idea but...

[dubiousmike]

In Massachusetts, Peapod does this (owned by Stop and Shop, I believe). We get a delivery to work once a week.

:P

Just what we need, more annoyances

[Flamesplash]

That's just what we need, more noise pollution in the grocery store, and more people not looking where they are going because they are checking their portfolio's

Sound?

[Nick Harkin]

I would like this idea, especially if i could tell it what i wanted to see, as long as there was no sound.

Can you imagine being weighed down with not only your ads, but everyone elses as well?

Noisy enough places as they are....

Anyone see Minority Report? As he walks through the shops, and is bombarded with ads? It could be closer to that than i would like..... :(

How about a map?

[n-baxley]

If I could type in what I'm looking for, and it would blink on the map both where I am and where the item is, I would buy my own personal one and bring it to the store with me. :)

Checking the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

[ChaosDiscord]

Great! "Hmmm, I wonder if I can afford the nice steaks or it's ground chuck tonight... oh my, my stocks just went through the floor, I guess it's ground chuck tonight."

No, wait, that's a stupid idea.

Some people seems to have forgotten that you first identify a problem, then you provide a solution. Providing a solution, then looking for a problem is usually doomed to failure. I fail to see a realistic case where getting stock quotes in the supermarket solves anyones problem.

Re:the real reason (fine - for YOU)

[gosand]

And profiling customers is a bad thing? Here's my take on it:
1) Advertising isn't going away, it's increasing, we are getting bombarded everywhere, now even in video game.
2) Why not give enough information to the sellers so that they can give me offers that I might actually like?

That is all fine and good, if you want it. The real crux of the issue is that the people who don't want it shouldn't have it forced on them. It should be 100% voluntary, but that won't happen. They don't want advertising to be voluntary. The way they do it now, at least where I shop, is they give you a store card with a barcode on it, which they scan at checkout. You get additional discounts on many items if you use it. While it is voluntary to have a card, the discounts are sufficient enough to warrant getting one. I usually save $5-10 every time I shop.

Voluntary targeted advertising - good.

Mandatory targeted advertising - bad.

And to answer your questions:

1) That doesn't make it right

2) They will always ask for more information than they really need. At least more than meets their stated objectives. Why do they need my address, phone number, etc simply to track which groceries I buy?

And if you don't want the government to know the info, but you don't care if a store manager knows, you should think about that a little more. Do you care if a librarian knows what books you check out? What about the FBI? When you give up that information, you lose control over who gets to see it.

THIS AIN'T NEWS!

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember seeing this sort of thing starting over four years ago in the stores near me. They have coupons that spit themselves out when you walk by.. uses motion detectors. Big whoop!!

Broken Shopping Carts

[Meridun]

Do we really think this has a chance in hell of working? No, I'm not talking about whether it's technically feasible or not, I'm referring to the fact that it's nigh impossible to find a shopping cart that has four functioning wheel as it stands.

Do you really think that there is a chance that ANY of these carts would be working after about 2 months, let alone the in-store network that they're supposed to interface with?

Re:Broken Shopping Carts

[dirvish]

The electronic carts that I have seen can tell when they are too far from the store and the wheels lock up to prevent theft.

Re:Broken Shopping Carts

[Meridun]

Actually, I wasn't even referring to theft. I was pointing out that they will merely break, the way that every other damned shopping cart in the local grocery store seems to. Although I have to say that the auto-locking wheels sound like yet another way for them to screw up :)

Re:Broken Shopping Carts

[dirvish]

Yeah, I can imagine every shopping cart simultaneously locking up even though they are all in the store.

not any more.

[Unknown Poltroon]

Now they ask you for you phone number, and read back to the database from that.

Re:not any more.

[n-baxley]

Huh, oh no! How will I ever get around this nefarious plan. Could I maybe give them another number, say my neighors, or the mayors? Or maybe say I'm from out of state and don't have their store there? Or maybe I could tell them to go to hell and sit on a hot coal because it's none of thier damn business. Honestly, it's like you have some sort of problem talking to others. Wait, you're on /. ranting about privacy? Oh, that explains it, carry on.

Ahh yes, Shopping cart Locks

[phoenix_orb]

They installed this at the Dominicks in Oak Park Illinois when I lived only across the street.

Anyway, push one over the line. The wheel locks up abruptly. Drag it back. It may or may not unlock. (Chances are more than not that it will stay locked for a time) They installed this at this location because people where stealing carts.

Hope that this helps.

Oh, you could also do a check on google for more information. Google is a "search engine", which indexes and allows you to search threw them for information. Google is considered by many the best "search engine" available currently.

http://www.carttronics.com/
http://www.woodmann .com/fravia/nola_wheel.htm

Re:Ahh yes, Shopping cart Locks

[Anonymous Coward]

BTW, it's through, not threw.

As long as....

[jlcooke]

As long as it doesn't have that little f*ck of a smug microsoft paper clip. I hate that thing...

I hate any computer that tries to tell me it's smarter then I am...I can tell the difference between 0 and 2!

Re:Practical use!!!

[program21]

I used to work at a supermarket where it was all too easy to get away with something like that.
There were coupons codes (4 digit, the bar code was 00000 0xxxx) for things like a BOGO shrimp ($12.99), free 1st birthday cake ($18), and so on. Plus there were lots of little ones, nothing as significant as that though, but they were sequential. One could make a night out of trying groups of codes, and in fact a few of us did.
The funny part was that the system never checked to see if you actually had bought (rather, were buying) the item that the coupon was good for, and would take off the amount anyway.

After I left, the store replaced it's backend system as part of a routine upgrade, and there were stricter controls over that, and also ways to be alerted when something odd was going on, so while it worked then, it's much harder to get away with now, at least for employees. I'm sure that any of us, as customers, could work something like that at another store where the cashiers have no idea.

For those who don't know, BOGO = Buy One Get One, as in by one, get one free.

This is a bit dated...

[bjorky]

While I was studying in Germany ('99-'00) the local supermarket had shopping carts like this, with and LCD display at the front of the cart with an IR sensor on top... when you passed under hanging IR transmitters it would beep and tell you specials for what aisle you were in. Seemed a perfectly reasonable and simple solution..

LCDs weren't too fond of cold and wet weather, but since the carts were kept under cover in the parking lot, and since you had to put in a DM1,0 deposit in it (like the quarter keeper at american Aldi groceries) there was also little cart loss/misplacement.

Just think...

[shekondar]

...you could create a beowulf cluster out of all of the carts in the cart return!

(sorry, had to say it!)

remote steering

[Anonymous Coward]

So these things won't have wheels that just wobble, but actally STEER you into the shelves?

Albertsons preferred tracking card.

[Camel Pilot]

My local albertsons just switched to the use of a card. I complained bitterly, leaveing the goods I was buying on the counter and walked out. I also sent an e-mail complaining to their corporate office at:

absfeedback@eds.com

I recommend you do also.

Also a little google searching found an organization dedicated to fighting the use of shopping cards at:

No Cards

Surpisingly there are other folks who do not like the use of cards

I think it is extremely arrogant of a business to require me to sign up and carry their tracking number in my pocket. If every vendor required that I would not have enough pockets to carry around their tracking numbers. Now if just had a national id card then ...

diverisfication is silly

[BigBir3d]

i go to the grocery store for groceries.

not for stock quotes, sales on items i don't buy (spam), or to listen to annoying dinging noises.

tech is cool at home and at work, the rest of the time, i would rather focus on being a human interacting face to face with other humans.

counterpoint

[Anonymous Coward]

Explain to me how this is different from regular coupons.

Re:the real reason (fine - for YOU)

[elmegil]

And of course the discounts aren't "real". They simply jack the prices and give you the old price if you sign up to be tracked.

Thank God they didn't go with their original idea

[Pastor Fluff]

Instead of a reasonable beep, someone came up with... pop-up ads in the aisles! Unfortunately it didn't get out of testing... too many complaints about broken noses.

Where can I get cart collision insurance.

[s4f]

There's nothing worse than a cart/carriage/basket driver who's attention isn't 100% on the aisle.

First there was the inattentive cart driver on the Cell phone, now we're going to give them a display screen too?

Re:Practical use!!!

[tomhudson]

The system they use is that, for some bar codes, the first digits identify it as a bottle refund, and the last 4 digits are the amount of the refund. Really brain-dead system - not even a checksum.

And, no, I'm not going to identify the stores involved. Hint: They're located in Canada.

Pure Bullshit!!!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine walking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on sale.
.
.
Imagine a supermarket cart that tells you which foxy babes in the market want to fuck! Imagine tatgeting shit to shineola. Imagine killing the bastards who think this is a good idea...Imagine the great feeling you would get! Woot!

Re:Pure Bullshit!!!!!!!

[tomhudson]

Imagine a supermarket cart that tells you which foxy babes in the market want to fuck! </quote>

Actually, THAT would be something I would be willing to put up with. And, come to think of it, this might just be possible. A scent sensor to determine when the chick is in esterus, ready to mate ...

So we'll end up w. more robots like Dot in Spaceballs, w. their virgin alarms.

Didn't kroger have this before?

[zerus]

I remember back in the late 80's to early 90's when the kroger by my house had a zone activated shopping system. Kinda like an early version of wireless ethernet. When you moved the cart down the cereal isle, it'd tell you what the sales were down there. So this doesn't really seem like a new idea to me, kinda like it's been done before

Re:Didn't kroger have this before?

[faxafloi]

Raley's in California was playing around with this in the 80s as well.

mountain dew?

[Slashdotess]

I really prefer juice ;)

Mountain Dew contains waaaay to much sugar, I'd have to work out an hour more every day.

I don't serve soft drinks to my kids either.. only on special occasions.

Re:mountain dew?

[Anonymous Coward]

How nice for you. You want a fucking medal?

Re:mountain dew?

[shepd]

>I really prefer juice ;)

"I'll take a crab juice..."

Rocket-cart

[Jonboy X]

As long as they're souping up shopping carts, why not put rockets on 'em, so I can ride the cart to my car at 100mph?

No users

[dsurber]

I shop in the store in Moraga a couple of times a week and I have never seen anyone using the thing. There are racks at the check-outs where the devices are returned after the shopper is finished. Never seen one in one of those racks. When it was first introduced there were people in the store pushing customers to sign up. I don't recall seeing anyone signing up. From what I have seen it is a total flop.

Worse than fiction

[ebcdic]

I used to read Philip K Dick novels and think "this is absurd". Now it seems excessively optimistic.

Cool...

[jokercito]

As long as I can turn it off, everything will be OK.

OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[evil_pb]

It's not bad enough that I can't watch ad-free TV. I can't go to ad-free web sites anymore, at least very often (even this one has ads, but at least they're limited to cool geek topics). I can't even check my damn email without getting 100 SPAM messages a day.

Now I have to be assaulted by this bullshit while I buy my milk and cheese? HOW LONG UNTIL THE X10 POPUPS ON THE CARTS I ask you??? Yeah, you all know it's coming... Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Tell you what, they start giving me my food for free to justify this new "advertiser-driven" model they've chosen, and I'll deal with the ads while I shop. However, as long as I have to pay to eat, they can stow that or I will make damn sure that cart never X10's my ass again! :D

Or better yet, hack the server in the store (which like most store servers will probably have a password of abc123, and since this is wireless, will be accessable via my laptop) and put up better ads and public service announcements, a la Fight Club style. Ohhhh yeah!

Re:OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[NineBall]

The problem is easily solved, however, simply by fixing a large magnet to the side of the trolley, as we all know what magnets do to computers...

Re:OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[evil_pb]

We know what magnets do to hard drives, yes. This is solid state storage however, I don't think it will have quite the same effect...

Re:OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[NineBall]

Ahh, but if you were to use a good old fashioned screwdriver...

Re:OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[suffocate]

Sledgehammer

Re:OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[evil_pb]

That would break the LCD. Besides, if I take the whole damn cart, then I can have some friends over for drunken shopping cart races down the minefield (aka construction-hole-ridden-shithole) that used to be the street behind my house. =)

Re:OH BLOODY FUCKING HELL

[NineBall]

Can I join in? Please?

old news

[bobibleyboo]

I believe that the tv show beyond 2000 did a story on this 5 or 6 years ago they had several supermarkets using it at the time. They where also using RF tags for the checkout all that you had to do was push your cart through something that looked like a small tent and it read all of your items.

What's going to happen....

[talks_to_birds]

...when they steam clean the shopping carts every week?

Ooo..

They don't steam clean the shopping carts where you shop?

And you put your food in that?

t_t_b

Paranoia Gets the Best of Us - Again...

[PhiloHmm]

It seems to me that this idea is a great idea if used for something aside from just telling you what is on sale and how your AAPL or MSFT stock is doing. Our paranoia shouldn't stand in the way of innovation so long as our information is protected and private. Consider the following benefits that your mom or wife could reap since God knows most of us don't do extensive grocery runs...

For example, as you significant other walks through the store and places things in the cart, it would be nice if the LCD showed how much the entire contents cost. This could very easily be done once RFIDs are used on all the items in the store (not a long way off either)

Another example would be for the loading a list into your cart from a PDA and having the cart "map" an efficient path through the store or tell you if something was out of stock or not on the shelf. If your cart saw that you wanted something that wasn't on the shelf, but was in stock an employee from the store could grab it and walk it up to you. It would be great if just once I could get back from the grocery store without forgetting something on the dang list.

Sure it could tell you what is on sale as you walk by an isle, saving plenty of employee time from updating labels (an estimated 80 hour per week task) and "enlightening" you with up to date information but this is something that isn't of deep or immediate value to shoppers.

In conclusion, we're all scared of what retailers know about us - but is the paranoia really worth it?

Cool!

[coopaq]

And you were wondering where you could get a free
computer to play your free mp3s!

Just throw the cart in trunk when you take your
groceries out.
Go home and use your 1337 skillz
and mod this puppy to play your music.

-J

one-click peanut butter

[216pi]

did anybody else first think of one-click peanut butter?

I complained ot Albertson's recent about this

[Raleel]

and I would post the letter, but I cannot get it thorugh the lameness filter for no apparent reason.

In shorrt, the assigned me a case number and expressed all kinds of concern for my privacy and claimed vehemently that the card was not linked to price, and them promptly offered me special offers because I was a member. I noted the irony and went to Fred Meyer's, which does not appear to use a card.

Shocking!

[AUsBandit]

That is great so can we now get the cart to count the items in it and shock the people who get in the 15 item limit line with 50 items?

Re:Cool! (funny!)

[evil_pb]

Ok, that was funny!!!

And actually a good idea... will these things just be a 2 line LCD display, or what? I mean they have to have some sort of intelligence to have localized wireless communication, shit if that thing has a decent display it's coming home to be a home entertainment center mp3 interface or something! Hell yeah! 1337! :D I have a truck, maybe I can build a beowulf shopping cart cluster or something. (I will give $10 to the first person to run SETI on a cluster of shopping carts, I'm not bullshitting there!)

oops

[Rhubarb Crumble]

, you bastard, 
!!!

bummer.

shelf-stocking for the digital age

[Triv]

Every wonder why products in a supermarket (say, tomato sauce) aren't in any real kind of order? Because manufacturers pay MORE to have the supermarkets place their products at eye-level. This is the same thing - tell you what's on sale and you're more likely to buy it. It's one of the major tenets of advertising - "if people can't see your product it won't sell," the corollary being "if people see product x more than product y, they'll be more likely to buy product x."

Personally, I'd find this experiment interesting from a tech perspective but I'd rather not use it. But then again I'm not in their core shopping demographic - I rarely spend more than 20 bucks at a time on groceries. :)

Triv

They dont want you to know the total amout.

[lupine]

Most supermarkets, wholesalers and chain store intentionally price products in a way that makes it difficult for people to calculate a running total in their head. When calculating procuct cost they add on their usual margin and then fudge the cents value to be strange numbers that confuse people. For example: .99, .23, .67, .53.

They have studied this and found that when they use this confusing pricing system people buy more, they buy what they want, not what they can afford or what fits in their budget. The stores dont want people be able to calculate their total purchase.

I know this because I used to work for a fucking supermarket.

Re:They dont want you to know the total amout.

[aridhol]

When calculating procuct cost they add on their usual margin and then fudge the cents value to be strange numbers that confuse people. For example: .99, .23, .67, .53.

I know about that. Some people (like my mother-in-law) tend to round down all the time. See $5.99, think $5. See $39.99, think $30. Fun looking at expensive stuff with her (Look that computer only costs $1000. No, it costs $1999.99, so $2000).

Re:Practical use!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Blocking The Quote
"For those who don't know, BOGO = Buy One Get One, as in by one, get one free"

Thanks for the redundency and for explaining it twice.

Tatoo ads

[Anonymous Coward]

How about ads tatooed to BILL GATE's hairy ass... so we can all read it while we are bent down KISSING his ass.

Bleah.

[Jon-o]

what a pointless and stupid idea.

Grocery stores are already full of ads and stuff, and you can see very clearly what's on sale and what isn't. Having to haul the ads around with me while shopping does not appeal in the slightest.

Accessing my shopping list?

[Anonymous Coward]

Here is what would make it cool: At home, I enter my shopping list (and a password I make up) in my email program, and email it to some address. Then when I get to the store, I enter the password on the shopping cart device and there is my shopping list right there on the little screen. And for each item, it can tell me where it is in the store! Now that would be useful.

What happens when...

[talks_to_birds]

Gator gets ahold of this idea?

Popup hell, eh?

t_t_b

Imagine....

[orthogonal]

Imagine walking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on sale.

Imagine me getting annoyed as hell at a shopping cart that beeps, squeals, shouts, and prehaps shows animated .gifs.

Imagine me walking out of the store without making a single purchase.

Imagine that I do not believe that my purpose in life is to be the recipient of advertising anytime my eyes are open.

Net life + real life = IRONY

[Winterblink]

Spammed, while buying Spam. What'll they think of next...

Re:Net life + real life = IRONY

[NineBall]

If it's anything like that, I may well decide to pay the people in marketing a visit, and I will have brought my neutron bomb.

excuse me dumbass,

[Anonymous Coward]

I shouldnt be feeding the flames, but i dont recall mentioning in my post that this was hard to get around, i was merely informing tha tthe system ahd changed. Now go fuck yourself, you mouth breathing shit eater.

Mods pay atention, this is definately flame bait!! Mod accordingly.

It's for me!

[supergiovane]

I always dreamt to be able to check Slashdot while being in queue at the supermarket cash.

One question: can I play Super Mario Cart with it?

That is the ONLY real

[Archfeld]

value they CAN offer. It is more about identifying wants, but you are weak willed enough to be manipulated into buying things you don't need or want, well then not much can be done for you...

On the other hand think of it as the company ACTUALLY working to try and find somthing you LIKE and MIGHT WANT, if not need. This harkens back to old school mercantilism, when a merchant had to make choices of what to offer to whom, and tailored their stock to customers tastes and desires based on their knowledge of the customer, because space, weight and supply was a huge problem.

hack value?

[ragnar]

I believe these things receive their message from some sort of wireless conduit. Imagine the hack value of broadcasting your own stuff to the LCD. This could be fun.

homeless

[flikx]

This could have a positive impact on the homeless population too. Imagine the dirty bum sauntering down the street, a chime sounding when he passes places to urinate in public, score some dope, sleep, pick up a hooker, or rob someone. The cart could even direct the direlect to prime places to spare for change and pan-handle.

I can't wait to see these things in Las Vegas.

Robot Cashiers...

[ronfar]

Yesterday, I had an unsettling experience. I was in Kash and Karry shopping, buying eggnog etc. (Only a few noggy weeks before the government takes it away again.) Finally, I got to the Kash register, only to note that even though the sign said it was open, there was nobody there. I figured out that it was a robot cashier. I took my eggnog, and ran it past the scanner. A cheery female voice anounced the price, and told me to put the item on the belt, which had started moving. I did the same thing with the rest of my purchases. The I pushed the red box on the touchscreen, selected cash and put my $20.00 in the slot. The machine, then cheerily dispensed my change "Don't forget to look below the scanner for bills." I bagged up my groceries and went on my merry way without having to speak to another living soul.

Now, I'm not sure why this was unsettling. Maybe because I used to do cashier work, or maybe because the store was so deserted at the time I went. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. I guess I've experienced my very first taste of "Future Shock." (Which in itself was unsettling for someone who would normally identify themselves as belonging to the Paranoia Pro-Tech secret society.)

Re:Robot Cashiers...

[Tackhead]

> [ Cashierless checkout at Kash and Karry story snipped ]
>
>Maybe because I used to do cashier work, or maybe because the store was so deserted at the time I went. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. I guess I've experienced my very first taste of "Future Shock." (Which in itself was unsettling for someone who would normally identify themselves as belonging to the Paranoia Pro-Tech secret society.)

I don't see what the problem is. I mean, as long as your secret mutant power is Machine Empathy, you've got it made, Citizen!

Ideo - Shopping Cart design

[cassius2000]

No shopping cart discussion would be complete without mentioning Ideo. They designed a shopping cart for an ABC News broadcast. They are very much a company that works hard to understand value. When I grow up, I want to work at Ideo.

Link to a clip of the show:
http://www.ideo.com/media/info.asp?x=3

Re:the real reason (fine - for YOU)

[gosand]

And of course the discounts aren't "real". They simply jack the prices and give you the old price if you sign up to be tracked.

No, not really (at least in this case). I am speaking of Jewel/Osco and Dominicks stores. A lot of times it is "buy one get one free" or a reasonable sale price on an item. You can compare the brands, and unless they jack up the price on everything in the store, you can clearly see where the bargains are. Sometimes it is a great sale on beef or chicken, where it is really a bargain to use their card.

I, Neo-Luddite

[limekiller4]

Over the years I've read a good number of neo-luddite vs. the technopop set. I never could identify with the luddites much less imagine I'd side with them. Well I'm starting to.

"There's the TV. It's all right there. Commercials. We are not productive anymore, they don't need us to make things anymore, it's all automated. What are we for then? We're consumers. Okay, buy a lot of stuff, you're a good citizen. But if you don't buy a lot of stuff, you know what? You're mentally ill! That's a fact! If you don't buy things...toilet paper, new cars, computerized blenders, electrically operated sexual devices... SCREWDRIVERS WITH MINIATURE BUILT-IN RADAR DEVICES, STEREO SYSTEMS WITH BRAIN IMPLANTED HEADPHONES, VOICE- ACTIVATED COMPUTERS, ..." - Jeffrey, 12 Monkeys

I'm sick of all this crap. I want to walk through my !@#$ing local grocery store, unmolested, and enjoy the process. Is this so hard to understand?

Blue Light Special

[docbrown42]

Pr0n on sale, Aisle 2!

Re:Blue Light Special

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you sure you don't mean red light sale?

Never mind.

But why?

[dk.r*nger]

Or picture reading the local five-day weather forecast, checking the Dow Jones industrial average and finding a new chicken and rice recipe

Ok, we get computers in refridgerators so we can order groceries directly from the fridge door Wow! But it works GREAT from my desktop.

Why would I get my fat ass up and go the the kitchen to order groceries? And go to the fireplace-computer to see the weather forecast to know if i have to fire it up.. and to the lawnmover-computer to see how much the grass grows.. and so and so on..

The point of having a computer on the frigde would be as a virtual note-holder for the family and possibly to get recipes of the web with, but only because of its location.

While I can see the point in getting recipes on the cart (maybe even syncing with my inhouse inventory server, to see what ingredients I need), a stock ticker or the weather is about the last thing I need when shopping. D*mn! The DOW is down 0.5, I better get lots of oatmeal? People for whom that matters, get that kind of info pushed to their cellphones.

Reminding shopping carts

[IPFreely]

I do most of the shopping on the way home, so I don't always have a good list with me.

I'd like to see something that I could use my grocery store ID tag (those annoying keyring tags that they ID and profile you with) to have it remind me of stuff I've purchased before as I walk by it. "Bing. Do you want to get more Parmasan Cheese?", along with a "Do not remind me about this one again" button and a "Thanks for reminding me" button to improve the profile. It could also have a way to feed it a list and have it direct me down the isles to my items.

A search for new items would be nice, but I can't think of a convenient way to enter the search criteria without a keyboard or touch screen. Maybe a kiosk with some kind of link to the carts (again, through the ID tag).

Don't like your supermarkets?

[Damek]

Then join a food co-op. If there isn't one in your area, get some friends together and start one.

There's no good reason anyone should be making a profit off your need for food to stay alive...

WARNING: Darwin Award candidate

[Anonymous Coward]

By getting back into your vehicle while pumping gas, you're just asking for a static charge to tick up off your ass as you slide in and blow you and everyone else there to Mars. May as well light up a smoke while you're at it. Make a few calls on the cell. Get out and shuffle around.

You wanna kill yourself, fine. But don't take anyone else with you, asshole.

Nice Web Site!

[Lizard_King]

The KleverKart web site just gave my team's graphic designer a heart attack.

Re:Nice Web Site!

[evil_pb]

Wow. I am carving my eyes out as I type this.

However those displays aren't bad really, I'm thinking some cart-theft is in order as those would make some cool wireless mp3->stereo players or whatever around the house! Or even really cool light switches, shit I can think of a million uses for "free" boxes like those!

I mean what I said, $10 to the first one to make a wireless beowulf shopping cart cluster. bwahahaha

This has been done long ago.

[nurb432]

Perhaps 10 years ago, the local Kroger stores had flat panel displays on their bascarts around this area, that had store maps, a calculator, and ads on them.

And they quit working if you got too far from the store.. ( i think they would beep too, but its been a while.. memory fade )

Imagine...

[Anonymous Coward]

An All-Robot Wash Day!

Reason #12319

[SubtleNuance]

Reason #12319 To Shop at my Local Farmers Market:

The shopping-cart come consumer-awareness-experience-eXtreme-lifestyle.

please, say this is a joke.

Nothing new

[Anonymous Coward]

We've been having this for years even in the most provincial super markets in Germany. It work with infrared transcievers installed on the cart and the market ceiling. The carts have an multiline monochrome LCD and make funny noices when you pass something that could be of interest. It keeps telling me that beef is on discount. Bad luck. I'm vegetarian. However, you learn to ignore this.

This has already been done.

[Bob MacSlack]

Well, certainly not to the extent the carts do, but years ago (5 or 6 i believe) the supermarket near my house started attaching small computers to the carts which would tell you where you were in the store and let you search for an item and then it shows you where it is on a little map. They may have told you about sales and such but i dont really remember. Quite handy tho a bit difficult to use, must have been just a little before their time.

Strictly Hypothetical

[Anonymous Coward]

How hard would this be...

1. Carry a small but potent magnet.
2. Whenever any new fangled electronic gadget tries to make your life an endless commercial break, wave this thing at it and watch it go dark.
3. Walk away casually.

Obviously it depends on the type of device, memory type, casing, etc. But what kind of magnet (electro or permanent) would likely do the trick of disrupting yer average embedded electronic device?

Of course, this would be illegal in probably dozens of ways, but how many laws does the question itself break? Is it covered under the DMCA?

Shades of VideOCart

[BillX]

Does anyone remember the hype from this failed marketing gimmick from about 10 years(!) or so ago? They were announcing "VideOCart is here!" in Jewel or Dominick's grocery stores (can't remember which, they all look alike to me :), handing out buttons, etc. Strangely, I never did see an actual VideOCart--I am quite certain this bit the dust before or shortly after the beginning of production. Hopefully consumers will be just as interested in the "KleverKart" as they were in the original.

Re:Nagging shopping carts QWZX

[Anonymous Coward]

I WANT to talk to the pretty girl at the cash register.

Yeah, you're right, we should just ignore the ugly girls. Who would want to talk to them.

Re:Practical use!!!

[DunbarTheInept]

The number on the barcode in a retail store isn't a price - it's just an ID number indicating the type of item it is. The barcode doesn't say, "This item costs $3.75". The barcode says, "This is item number 105919541 in your database". When the cash register scans it, it looks up in the store's database and discovers that item number 105919541 is "6-pack of 20 fluid Oz bottles of Cherry Coke", and that the price for this item in this particular store is $3.75.

Altering the barcode would only confuse the cash register into thinking it was a different item, not into charging a different price for the same item.
That could still work if the checkout line person isn't really paying attention - you might be able to check out a 24-pack of soda as if it was a small pack of chewing gum. But if the person watches the screen at all, you could get caught easily.

I use cards whenever I can.

[trentfoley]

My kids' school has a deal where we buy cards with values of $10, $25, and $100 amounts to be used at a particular grocery store. I use them at the grocery until the balance goes to zero and then throw them away.

Why use them? The school gets money for me using the card instead of paying with cash.

Since the card is not linked to any of my personal information aside from my fingerprints being all over the thing, I'm not worried about privacy issues.

BOGOmips

[DunbarTheInept]

For those who don't know, BOGO = Buy One Get One, as in by one, get one free.

According to `cat /proc/cpuinfo`. my old computer has 799.54 By One, Get One deals on Mips. Twice the instructions per second for the same price.
Sweet.

Lie

[0xA]

So lie about it. I have "discount" cards from all over the place.

None of the information I provided to any of these companies even resembles reality.

Nothing new about this..

[linuxtelephony]

In 1992/1993 I used to regularly shop at a grocery store that had an LCD screen near the handle of the shopping cart. As you'd walk around different parts of the store, the screen would flash information about what was near your location. Plus, it was interactive, you could use it to locate what isle things were on, and see some recipes and other information too.

It was all fed by what I believe were infrared "nodes" mounted on the roof of the store every few feet. In playing with the cart, as you walked into the area covered by a specific node, the screen would flash something that was usually within about 2 to 4 feet of where you were standing, and looking up you'd see the node almost directly above you.

Took long enough...

[endquotedotcom]

I remember a Vons Pavillions in Orange county having a b&w LCD screen on it that told you where you were, what was on sale, and where to find what you were looking for back in like, 1995.

I only ever saw it at the one store, but I always thought it was really neat. Sort of spooky.

As far as privacy goes, it's not like there's anything personally identifying your path through the store with *you*, and even if there was, they already know everything you buy with your "club card" anyway. Just give them fake contact info when you sign up and it's all good.

ISN't THAT WHAT STORES ALREADY DO?

[cybercomm]

I mean shoppng carts ara just an evolutionary step. Stores have been doing this for DECADES! What do you think your VISA does; Or better yet your sears/safeway/fry's/[insert any store "discount card/club card" name here]... Every time Ma'n'Pa shop the clerk asks them if they want to become a member for free, so that they could get discounts, and once they sign up do you really think that it would be hard to program the computer to store their purchasing habbits in a database, so the store is happy, and the consumer is happy, because he SAVED 36 CENTS/GOT 2 AIR MILES!!!^^w000t for him^^ ? I mean the shopping carts are just a miniature evolutionary step, because now they can put that database to use (IE they can scream their "digital lungs" off telling people that they can save 36 cents if they purchase vaseline and blowup doll combo. So in a way you didn't really have privacy (unless you did not have a COSTCO/club card/store discount card.......
Though i honestly believe that hobos will find the way to mod the carts so that they could play tetris while collecting empry bottles!

Low tech method

[Servo]

I use one of those barcodes when I purchase my groceries. My grocery chain (Shope Rite) then sends me mailers that are targeted to what I buy. At the checkout, they also print coupons based on what I buy. Say, I buy a package of Gardenburger veggie burgers.. I usually get a coupon for my next trip on that same item.

Something else I've noticed, I was buying Silk soymilk for a long time, and then I switched to 8th Continent soymilk. Every time I buy 8th Continent, I get a coupon for Silk! So I buy the Silk the next week, no coupon, and then I go buy 8th again, and yep, coupon for Silk again.

No Thanks...

[Anonymous Coward]

...I'll take personalization via blinding laser retinal scan instead.

GPS and a Cell Phone...

[sipy]

Can you imagine how much it's going to cost Joe's Discount Grocery Store to replace all of these gadgets as the Cripts & Bloods carve their gang symbols across the faces of the displays? Not to mention that your local bum/bag lady won't give a second thought to the neat-o LCD screen as he or she presses the cart into service as an aluminum recycling plant on wheels, or "mobile warehouse of smells".

Rather than spend $$ on mobile computers that get kids in trouble, and cause grown ups to bash into eachother's achillies heels, I suggest that the cart manufacturers equip them with a GPS and a cell phone. That way, once the vagabonds abscond with the pricey carts (around $1,000 each!), the police can lojack their asses!

There's no way in hell this'll work

[Metalhead01]

I used to work at a very busy grocery store when I was in high school, and I've seen first-hand the abuse shpooing carts go through. They're routinely kicked, smashed, knocked over, ran into walls, ran into people, broken and battered. Shopping carts at grocery stores don't last that long, either because the fucking idiotic customers beat them to shit or the homeless bums take them away.

Why would these super-nifty carts be immune to this? Why would they not suffer the same fate? It's damn near impossible to keep people from being stupid and smashing into stuff, or taking the carts home with them.

Another thing to consider is the fact that these are going to be very expensive. Most grocery stores aren't raking in the cash, and if they have to but a few thousand carts every few weeks to replace stolen or damaged ones, they're either going to go belly-up or forget about the whole thing.

"civil" disobediance?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think any store complying with this stupid idea should be punished. These shopping carts should be 'liberated' wherever they're seen. They probably cost an arm and a leg, and I'm sure future supermarkets/retailers will think twice when some homeless guy is spotted pushing one of these around.
Rob from the rich, give to the poor!
If that isn't really your speed, consider vandalism!

Re: Isn't that what store already do?

[ChaosDiscord]

Woah, relax. Yes, stores and businesses already do try to track you with discount cards, credit card numbers, checking account numbers, rebate requests, and the ilk. I object to those as well. I strongly support laws that restrict tracking people by social security number, credit card number, checking account number, and other tricks. Myself, I try to live on cash. I find it useful for crude budgeting (hmmm, that last withdrawal of $100 didn't last as long as it should, time to cut back a bit), and makes me harder to track. I refuse discount cards and rebates.

Hmmmm....

[tcnc74]

Can I install linux on this?

Re:Practical use!!!

[tomhudson]

Not always. In this case, the first few digits identify the item as a rebate coupon, with the last 4 digits being the amount. I've programmed PLUs on SKUs for POS systems, so I know that there is the possibility on most systems to do calculations, etc, based on all sorts of variables - time of day, qty, etc.

SAFEWAY!!

[grahamsz]

Have offered this for years! I know i was still in high school when it started so it was probably around 1996.

Certainly in the US safeway are well backward but their scottish stores are a bit more useful.

You just pick up a handscanner when you go in, place it back when you leave, it prints out a receipt with a barcode and you pay that amount.

Of course sometimes they make the cashiers rescan you and if you are unreliable at doing your own scanning then this happens everytime... unfortunately my safeway card is also used by my mother, who wonderful as she is, cant work new fangled electronics to save herself :)

Re:SAFEWAY!!

[aridhol]

Damn. Here in Canada, they can't even make their carts work properly.

Self locking wheels! - high tech

[Doppler00]

Yes, but they are concerned with people steeling them. How about those carts where the wheels have locking boots on them? They'll lock the wheels if you try to go to far from the grocery store by using an electronic sensor. I guess too many homeless people were stealing the carts so they implemented this technology.

Someone I know, not knowing about this amazing technology, parked quite aways from the shopping center. Upon trying to get to their car, the wheel locked and they couldn't move the cart. They ended up draging the cart whith the locked wheel the rest of the way. Not fun.

Oh, the benefits of being hearing impaired...

[AnalogDiehard]

I wear a hearing aid. While it is a handicap, sometimes it is a blessing.

When those stupid ads are broadcast over the store PA, I impulsively turn off the hearing aid. Ah, the tranquility :)

I'll do the same with the shopping carts. And if the LCD screen distracts me, I'll head straight for the aisle where they sell duct tape.

%&#$ing marketing monkeys... I hate 'em.

The time has come...

[HarveyBirdman]

...for the minature, concealable mini-Tesla coil / electronics zapper. Wander your cart over to a distant aisle, and give the prattling little beastie a good kick in its highly shock sensitive CMOS ass.

The issue is larger than privacy...

[RobertB-DC]

The issue is larger than individual privacy, and lying about your information doesn't really help.

As detailed at the CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering) site, supermarkets don't care who you are... they just want to know about your buying patterns.

What's wrong with that?

What's wrong is that 75% of a store's profits come from the top 30% of customers (according to this essay). In the profit-driven corporate world, there is no reason to serve the lower 70%, if higher profits can be made off those 30%.

So caviar and fresh salmon get big "card discounts"... and beans, rice, and tortillas get marked up to make up the difference. In effect, your poorest customers (the ones for whom beans + rice + tortillas = dinner) actually subsidize the purchases of those who can afford luxury foods.

But you're a filthy-rich dotcommer, why should you care? Alright, Mr. Cynical, get this: a lot of that beans and rice are being paid for by food stamps. Food stamps come from tax dollars. Tax dollars come from... YOU!

The grocery stores are double-dipping -- no, triple-dipping -- at the expense of poor customers, middle-class customers, and taxpayers.

That's why, when possible *, we should Just Say No!

* Embarassing full disclosure: I have a Kroger card. They had lower markups and a better privacy policy than their competitors, and are often the only nearby store open when the kids want milk with their cerial. Flames welcome, please address to /dev/null.

Won't last ong....

[eniacpx]

If there a touchscreen LCD display and builtin wireless....hmmm can you say free tablet PC to anyone that has a screwdriver?

lose

[Anonymous Coward]

lose not loose

they're

[Anonymous Coward]

"they're," not "their"

The carts need to be part of an application

[solprovider]

Shopping carts with computers need to be integrated with an application that makes them useful to customers.

Discounts are nice. They attract the poor and the bored. Neither are our typical technology-savvy customer who will come to THIS store because they have the computerized shopping carts.

Off-topic: Why are Pepsi products on sale last week, Coke products this week, and Pepsi next week? Are these rotating sales actually generating business, or are they just traditions? I sometimes drive 25 mins to go to a store that doesn't have sales (or a "discount" card) but I always bring home more goods than my local shopping trips (mostly because of the travel), but the total cost is about the same as my local shopping trips.
Back to the topic...

The reason I will use these shopping carts (and maybe even carry one of those damned cards) is if it helps me shop.

I want a web site where I can track my needs. Add a turkey and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. Have it automatically add a gallon of milk every 9 days. (Notice that recurring items should be a basic requirement for the system.)

My wife could add to the list. Actually she would probably be the one managing it. I am more of an impulse buyer. This way I could not forget the essentials.
(Cell phones work great only if I remember to call, she answers, and she happens to remember something I forgot during the 30 secs we are talking.)

Then have the checkout remove the items from the list, and keep the list of what I bought for a week.
So I won't buy another gallon of milk the next day. (It has happened.)
So my wife stops at the store and doesn't buy the stuff I am unpacking at home. (It has happened.)

Anything that a store adds to the shopping experience should be about the shopping experience.

So the specifications for the system are:
Input from home
- web site
- Add/remove items with frequency rate in days for recurring items. A frequency rate of zero means it is a one-time purchase.
- an application to work off-line (open-source so we don't fear the software analyzing our hard drives.)
- an application to sync with a palm computer.
Location-sensitive shopping carts
- alert you when you are near a product you need
- show your lists:
- Remaining items needed.
- Items in cart.
- Items bought recently.
- Special deals based on customer profiling.
- a price-checker. (The human resource savings from not putting price stickers on every item may quickly offset the cost of the system. Keep the shelf pricing for comparison shopping.)
Application-aware cashiers
- Remove purchased items from the web-accesible list.

This will probably start as a chain-specific system, but I would expect consumers to demand that their list can be synched between chains, at least from the software at home if the chains refuse to use cross-company system. I'd expect it quickly from us developers even if the chains do not provide the software.

The future isn't as close as I thought it would be

[darkitecture]

I'm actually surprised that television sets haven't made it into the shopping aisles yet. I mean, on occasion, you see some random person standing in the middle of the store, trying to promote some inane product like the George Foreman Grill, who has a demo tape running on a tiny tv behind them, but I would have thought that by now, people in marketing would have tried to shove tvs onto the shelves every ten yards, blaring out what you should buy. Grocery stores could get revenue from manufacturers too... Imagine Pepsi paying a weekly 'rental' for prime position on the shelves, with a tv right in the middle of the display, blaring out some teen-focused 'hip' Pepsi commercial, looped over? Sure, I probably just fed the marketing devil with my rant, but honestly, I'd rather listen to some "Make 7 Up Yours!" commercial than that terrible elevator muzak intermittently broken up by a "*chime* Price Check on Prune Juice, Bob... Price Check on Prune Juice *chime*"

This is not new... millions were spent in 1989...

[joberhart]

This is the ***exact same*** idea that was developed by VideOcart in Chicago in 1989... Information Resources head John Mallec dumped a ton of his own money into it, and later IBM dumped a load into it... do a google by "videocart chicago" and see what you get... http://www.drtomorrow.com/lessons/lessons9/07.html

Wow!

[Ace905]

This sounds absolutely horrible! I can't count the number of times I've wanted a chicken & rice recipe recited to me while shopping, or wondered if one price was lower than another even though I was looking right at the prices.

Oh wait, yes I can - zero.

Hmm... strange it never caught on even though it's an old idea.

Who is KleverKart but people who can not spell

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry to burst the bubble but there were only two people working on the Linux drivers/port for the Safeway SmartCart: Linus Sphinx and myself. A place called Primitive Logic did the web pages. I do not know who KleverKart is and never saw anyone from KleverKart during the entire implementation.

Troll

[mulhall]

Why the fuck does everyone keep saying "my bad" it's really fucking me off.

Talk normally you fuck-wits!

Last Post!

[alpg]

They seem to have learned the habit of cowering before authority even when
not actually threatened. How very nice for authority. I decided not to
learn this particular lesson.
-- Richard Stallman

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