Kristin- Stop & Shop jumpstarts mobile marketing

I don't know if you've noticed lately, but if you've been to your local Stop & Shop you may have seen a display like the one below when you walked in.

So you may be asking yourself what it is, or are just too scared to try the new technology. Stop & Shop has launched these new mobile "scan it" devices in many of their stores. It's really quite simple and easy to use. When you walk in, you scan your Stop & Shop card and one of the scanners will light up for you to take and use.

As you shop, you simply scan the barcode of the item you want with the device and it will appear on the screen. There is then a button you can press to add this item to your cart. Once you scan the item you place it in your shopping bag. If you decide you no longer want the item you can easily remove it from the list as well. I really enjoyed using the device because you get to bag your groceries as you shop. When you're done shopping, you simply proceed to the checkout and scan a barcode at the register, swipe your credit card or pay cash, and you are on your way. So you may be wondering how you purchase bakery items or fruits and vegetables...worry not. Stop and Shop has placed barcodes near these items as well that you scan or weigh your vegetables and the scale prints out a barcode for you. Below is an example of the barcode found in the bakery area.

Also, as you walk up and down the aisles, your hand held scanner will beep and alert you of special discounts in that aisle. Since you scan your Stop & Shop card at the beginning, the device is aware of your previous shopping habits and as you shop you may notice many coupons appear for items you frequently buy. For example, when I was shopping my scanner kept alerting me of a discount on bottled water since I usually buy a case whenever I'm there. The whole system is really quite amazing to think about how marketers are really individually targeting each consumer.