Meijer To Offer Self-Scanning Mobile App In Chicago

As grocers ramp up their digital offerings, Meijer is gearing up to launch a self-scanning mobile app in the Chicago area that allows shoppers to scan their purchases throughout the store and check out at a dedicated counter. But shoppers will still have the option of a traditional checkout experience, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Meijer Spokesman Frank Guglielmi told The Chicago Tribune, “We want our shoppers to shop the store the way they want.”

Through the self-scanning mobile app, consumers can scan their purchases as they shop. When it comes time to check out, consumers put their phone up to a self-checkout register before leaving the store.

The grocer has tested the technology at some of its stores in Michigan, and 12,000 people have already downloaded the app. In addition to the self-checkout feature, the app can offer shoppers customized promotions from food producers.

The news comes about two years after Sam’s Club gave its members the option of using the new scan-and-go mobile-checkout service in all 645 Sam’s Club stores in the U.S. According to the retailer’s website, shoppers in-store will be able to scan each item’s barcode through an app on their iPhone or Android phone, which will keep a running tally of all items in the cart. The app also offers checkout and payment options.

When they are done shopping, Sam’s Club customers can tap to pay and have a receipt sent to their phone — no need to stop at the cash registers. That receipt is then shown to a Sam’s Club employee on their way out the door, much in the same way physical receipts are checked to make sure customers are actually paying for all of their items.

Walmart, too, has been expanding its Scan & Go mobile app. Through the free app, customers can scan the barcodes on products as they do during their in-store shopping and add products to their carts. The app maintains a running total and list of the merchandise and their prices, enabling shoppers to do a self-checkout via their mobile device instead of waiting in line.