There is always something new in the barcode world. It seems that the aim of technology is to make things smaller and faster. In the retail industry fast checkouts are essential and over the last few years we have had some really cool innovations that have worked well and others we have have cursed.
The success of the DIY Barcode scanner
The Do-it-yourself checkout which is available in most checkouts now is great for the shopper who has a minimal amount of products in their shopping basket. Instead of joining long queues and expecting long waiting periods they can join the shorter queues to the DIY checkouts, quickly scan the items themselves, pay and they are away. There have always been issues with the machine suddenly stating that you need to ask the assistant to help, or to process alcohol, or just the fact that you are not dealing with a real human being. But there is no getting away from the fact that on the whole they have been a runaway success – they really, are fast, efficient, and cost effective for the superstore themselves.
Welcome to Rapid Scan
So the news this week that Asda was considering unveiling its 360 degree scanner for the customer with larger amounts of shopping was a welcome innovation both for the shopper and the store manger. The scanner appears as a an arch above the conveyor belt on which the items are placed at the checkout. All the customer has to do is place the items on the belt and the scanner within the arch automatically picks up the barcode and scans all the necessary information. At the other end the customer simply pays and bags up all their items.
Offering a speedy experience just like the DIY checkout, it also needs less direct supervision. One assistant can look after 3 or 4 checkouts at the same time. Asda have named the breakthrough Rapid Scan till because the scanning itself apparently speeds up scanning by 300%.
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