Shoppers at Woolworths Canberra Airport store can now use a tablet to scan their groceries as they shop. Photo: Woolworths.
Riverina shoppers will have to wait a little longer for Woolworths’ new smart trolleys, with the supermarket giant confirming there are no immediate plans to roll out the technology in Wagga or Griffith.
But Woolworths has not ruled out bringing the Scan&Go trolleys to the Riverina, as the technology continues to expand across its stores.
The trolleys, which have now arrived at Woolworths Canberra Airport, allow shoppers to scan and pack their groceries as they move through the aisles before paying without having to unload their trolley at the checkout.
Woolworths says the system is designed to make shopping faster and give customers greater control over their spending – but not everyone is convinced that doing more of the checkout work themselves is an improvement.
Shopper Carol Cooke discovered the new tablets when on her shop last week. She said she was annoyed that more work is being forced on customers.
“I push the trolley, find the groceries, scan the groceries, pack the groceries and then hand over an excessive amount of money for the privilege?” she said.
“We are increasingly encouraged to do all the jobs once performed by our teenage children.
“I left feeling slightly amused, slightly guilty and a little sad that we seem to be enthusiastically designing a future where machines are everywhere, and the humans are increasingly just there to explain how to use them.”
The push towards smarter supermarkets comes as some shoppers are becoming increasingly frustrated by technology replacing face-to-face service, particularly at self-service checkouts.
Griffith’s Rossies FoodWorks has become something of a local counterpoint, with the supermarket choosing not to install self-service checkouts and manager Ross Catanzariti previously saying customers were coming to the store specifically because they wanted to be served by a person.
Ross Catanzariti says he loves having checkout staff like Abbie Hardwick. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Fellow shopper Jack Nolan disagrees, believing the new system will be quicker.
“No one wants to spend ages shopping. At least now once it’s in the trolley, I don’t have to get it back out again until I get to my car,” he said.
“Of all the new technology that all the supermarkets are bringing in, I do think this is one of the better ones.
“It beats trying to fit everything in at a cramped self-checkout.”
Woolworths director of smart enablement Matthew Baveas responded to customer concerns about the Scan&Go system, stating that once customers learn the system, it will save them more time in store.
“We’re focused on giving time back to our customers, and these trolleys are designed to make the grocery shop faster from start to finish,” Mr Baveas said.
“By scanning and packing groceries as they shop, customers can enjoy a much more seamless checkout experience.
“One of the really great things about these smart trolleys is that they allow customers to track their spend as they browse the aisles, helping them save on the weekly grocery shop.
“The Scan&Go trolleys are now available at the Canberra Airport Woolworths, and will be rolled out to more stores in the near future. This follows a successful launch of the trolleys in NSW, WA, VIC, QLD and SA.”
More information on the Scan&Go trolleys, including a full list of participating stores, is available at Woolworths.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Region Canberra.
