The Joys of Grocery Shopping

Shoprite (Checkers), lower prices you can trust. But what about convenience? Competitive prices inevitably mean more feet through the store, higher demands from consumers and longer checkout queues.
In a number of articles in the past I have expressed my disdain about the lack of convenience of many product and service suppliers. A complete marketing strategy features a great product, with effective advertising and marketing campaigns that reaches a relevant audience, but without convenience perfectly nestled at the base of any campaign, the purpose is defeated for all practical reasons.
The more human beings are exposed to convenience, the more convenience they demand. And it is up to the smart marketers to help their clients move toward that.
So when I first read about ShopRite (unfortunately not ours in South Africa, but keep reading) taking shopping carts (the actual in store shopping carts) to an even more convenient level, I was quite impressed.
They have implemented a digital MediaCart in their shops for their loyalty card holders which enable their shoppers to type in their shopping list at home and then when they swipe their cards on the MediaCart the list will display. As the shoppers then scan their items and place it inside the cart, the console will display a running price tally.
The MediaCart also has a built in infrared unit that provides feedback on the location of the shopper. This data is useful for marketers, product suppliers and store arrangement purposes in particular.
It also serves as advertising medium as product suppliers could display relevant in store advertisements to the shoppers’ benefit, depending on their location in the store, items in the cart and preferred brands that have been chosen.
Best of all, when the shopper is done, there is no need for them to stand in line to pay for the groceries, as that would only defeat the purpose. A simple swipe of the card an electronic transaction then debits their account.

http://bluespotmedia.ning.com/