New system lets shoppers swipe

IF YOUR weekly supermarket safari has lost its zing and you've been unhappily suppressing the urge for a bit of personal interactivity with barcodes, head for Lucan, Co Dublin. The Superquinn there now offers the ultimate digital shopping experience: a "scan your own" setup that lets shoppers loose on the floor with their very own portable scanner gun.

Yes, that's right. Shoppers are entrusted to zap the barcodes on their Taytos, sausage rolls, and Weetabix as each item lands in the shopping trolley. And no, Superquinn isn't worried that furtive smugglers will load the trolley with unscanned cans of Guinness hidden beneath an artfully arranged net of oranges.

"The system is based on trust," explains Superquinn assistant manager Niall Broughan. "We're leaving that to the customer." He says the system has been implemented primarily as a customer service: "They can come in, scan their own shopping, and get out very quickly."

Superscan, which was set up by computer company ICL, is simple to use and allows customers to bypass that heart sinking queue at the cashier. Even techno curmudgeons who scowled at the coming of laser reading checkouts will, well, have fun with Superscan. And Lucan is the only place on the island which has this kind of system up and running.

The system is available to all Lucan Superquinn Superclub members (though the store says it's also happy to sign up non locals for the Superscan experience). The shopper's Superclub card is "swiped" through a reader next to a panel of scanning guns. A scanner is released to the shopper, who can carry it or mount it in a special holder on the trolley. Items are scanned as the shopper packs them into reusable bins or bags. Even bakery items arid the fruit and veg have little barcoded signs posted next to them. If you've scanned an item but change your mind, you just rescan it as a "delete" item.

Then comes the moment rich in personal satisfaction as you bypass the checkout with your already packed groceries, pay and leave. When the scanner is returned, the store's computer system loads the shopping data into its checkout system and a barcoded receipt is issued, which is brought to the Superscan checkout area. The cashier scans the receipt, enabling the register to call up the stored shopping data, any adjustments are made - special discounts or coupons - and the customer pays, gets an itemised receipt, and leaves.

Security involves random checks: occasionally shoppers are asked to bring their trolley to be scanned and any discrepancies are noted. Broughan says sometimes there can be errors in the store's favour - when customers have mistakenly scanned an item twice. Depending on the size and kind of discrepancy, the store can increase - or lessen - the frequency at which a customer is checked.

At first glance, Superscan might seem an open invitation to shoplifters. However, stores in the US and other European countries have been using self scanning systems without having a checkout crisis, and Feargal Quinn has clearly decided that the benefits outweigh the likelihood of pilfering. For example, it simultaneously encourages and rewards customer loyalty and improves store efficiency. Most shoppers jam the store on weekends, according to Lucan store manager Ray Clarke. "We just don't have enough lanes to look after all the business," he says. "We'd plan to get our share of the business, up through Superscan.

The initial response of customers after a trial period suggests that Superquinn guessed right. "We're actually amazed at the high take up for Superscan, Clark notes. "A thousand a week are using it - 15 per cent of our overall business - which is far outside our expectations at this point." Data from customer transactions will be used to evaluate products and promotions, but there are no plans to use it for direct marketing.

And what do the punters think? By mid morning on a weekday, several shoppers were roving the floor with scanners in hand. Zapping a bag of potatoes was Lucan resident Susan Galloway, who uses Superscan weekly and prefers it: "It was slower doing the initial shopping but now it's fairly quick." She likes keeping a running total of her purchases, and she can also pack her items the way she prefers, which saves her time when she gets them home, she says.

The system's current success probably isn't harmed by the fact that most shopping trips are made by women, many of them mothers with tech entranced kids. What happens when bored 14 year olds arrive in the store with their mums? Clark laughs. "They were dying to use this."