Scan & Go’s Moment Arrives

This is the first in a series of blogs highlighting some of the challenges grocery retailers face with COVID-19 and how the Digimarc Platform can help mitigate obstacles related to efficiency, employee health and other issues. Look for more blogs in the weeks to come.

COVID-19 has quickly upturned the norms of grocery retail. Stores now limit the number of shoppers to ensure safe, social-distancing guidelines are maintained. And shoppers are looking to limit person-to-person contact in the store and complete their trip as quickly as possible. They are also focused on the availability of the item they want, such as bath tissue, and not on whether it is a national brand or not; Kroger reports a spike in its private label brands.

Many retail experts believe this moment will be a turning point for scan-and-go systems, because they give shoppers an alternative to traditional and self-checkout and promote touchless checkout. Forbes magazine, in a recent analysis, stated: “Now the arguments against scan-and-go technology no longer hold water. Now the conditions for its implementation are ideal.”

Forbes outlined three important benefits:

1. It’s Safer – Grocery retailers are doing an excellent job with checkout lanes during COVID-19, mandating shoppers stay six-feet apart, but scan-and-go lets shoppers skip checkout entirely, helping both cashiers and shoppers reduce person-to-person contact.

2. Less Staff – Labor shortages were already an issue before COVID-19, and now there is the threat of staff getting sick or being absent for family or personal needs. Scan-and-go only requires one person at each entrance/exit to monitor activity, reducing the required staff.

3. Reduced Theft Threat–To promote social distancing, grocery stores are manning the entrances/exits to limit the number of shoppers entering stores. This tight control on shopper activity is likely to discourage/mitigate routine theft, which is often cited as reason not to adopt scan-and-go.

Digimarc is a long-time partner of Zebra Technologies, a leader in data capture and automatic identification solutions, providing frictionless solutions to retailers. When grocery retailers combine Digimarc Barcode on packaging with Zebra’s PS20, a Personal Shopper device designed to promote store efficiencies and seamless shopping, you have a powerful scan-and-go system for challenging times. Digimarc’s Partner Re-Vision can also support scan-and-go shopping, with its self-shopping mobile app and dedicated hardware device in-stores, which can be enabled with the Digimarc Mobile SDK to read Digimarc Barcode.

Grocers wanting to enable scan-and-go with a new or existing shopper app, can also utilize Digimarc’s mobile SDK for reliable product scanning. Walmart integrated Digimarc mobile software into its flagship app for both iOS and Android to enable Scan & Shop powered by Digimarc.

Digimarc delivers a safe and touchless store experience for both shoppers and employees. Learn more about how we can help you get started by receiving a free retail tech assessment.