By Associated Press - Sunday, September 1, 2019

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - One of the South’s largest grocery store chains is eyeing a future that could involve hand-held scanners and fewer cashiers.

The new method of shopping has been in place this summer at a Kroger store in Gainesville, Georgia, The Times reported.

The system allows shoppers to go around the store and scan items as they put them in their cart, rather than in the checkout line.

“It’s just another option,” said Judy Walden, one of the managers at the Gainesville store where the technology is being used. “I think it was created just to give people another option.”

About 2% to 2.5% of the daily transactions at the Gainesville Kroger Marketplace on Jesse Jewell Parkway are processed through the new “Scan, Bag, Go” system.

Customers bring their own bags or use the store’s, then pick up a scanner from a stand at the front of the store. For typical items on the shelves, they pick up the item, point the scanner at the barcode and press the scan button.

Amazon’s entrance in the grocery market might have prompted other companies to introduce new technology in their stores, the newspaper reported. Kroger’s new process came after Amazon’s Amazon Go store, which allows customers to shop without ever talking to another person or standing in a line. Sensors are used to detect what customers take off shelves. The system automatically sends a bill for the items not replaced.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.gainesvilletimes.com

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