Massachusetts Supermarkets May Remove Individual Prices on Items
A bill proposed by Massachusetts legislators would allow supermarkets to remove individual prices on each item, making customers rely instead on electronic scanners located throughout the store.
Some people don't like the idea, however. The Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group says it will inconvenience shoppers by forcing them to walk to scanning stations. Critics also say it will make it harder to catch overcharges at the register.
But Jon Hurst of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts says this move will ultimately benefit customers as it will lower prices and shorten lines without having to devote resources for item-by-item pricing. However, since most states don't follow this item-by-item pricing, the impact may be negligible.
I'm personally a big fan of the handheld electronic scanners available at my Stop and Shop back home in Connecticut, which lets you zap items as you shop through the aisles, and helpfully figures in any discounts available—not to mention informs you of items that are on sale as you walk around. When you finish, head to a register, scan the UPC code with your scanner, and pay up. It could be a little dangerous if you're guilty of being an impulse shopper, but the convenience can't be beat. [via Consumerist]
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9 Comments:
I am a big fan of the new scanning systems up to a point. And that point happens to be checkout. If you have items that are scannable, are not reduced or on "Manager's" special and don't have any "unusual" produce or "unique" grocery selections, then checking out at the "self serve" registers is a wonderful, quick experience. Otherwise, it can be a very frustrating, time consuming pain in the butt. You usually end up waiting for a clerk to come over, wave a card, type in a zillion codes and say everything is fine......only to have it happen all over again 20 seconds later. And this happens not only at Stop and Shop, but at Shaw's as well.
Boscompb at 10:38AM on 07/02/08
Have they estimated how much more of the customer's time will be wasted in line waiting for the inevitable increase in frequency of price checks? Every trip I make to pretty much any grocery store, I invariably have at least one item in my cart that's not in the store's system. Most of the time the items have a price label on them, which the cashier keys in. Call me cynical, but I spend a lot of time at grocery stores (job-related) and I see this as no labels, more price checks, more time wasted in the checkout line.
BrianPrestonCampbell at 10:40AM on 07/02/08
I live in Massachusetts, and I will resist this.
"I see this as no labels, more price checks, more time wasted in the checkout line." -- I couldn't agree more!
Brownie at 10:55AM on 07/02/08
I guess it's because I've never lived in Massachusetts, but I'm unable to understand the opposition to this.. It's coming across to me as "our residents are lazy and stupid", and I *know* that's not the case. But this system has worked in basically every state other than Massachusetts (and Michigan?) for *years*.
Out of curiousity, are there no labels on the shelves currently? How do you do unit comparisons, or is everyone expected to whip out a calculator and figure it out for every item? And when an item is on temporary sale, I guess someone has to go relabel every single box, and then do it again when the sale ends?
randomeater at 11:53AM on 07/02/08
I don't reside in Taxachussetss, but if I did I would be inclined to find a way to get even with store owners who go this route.
One tactic would be for shoppers to pick up items and while in the grocery line make the purchase decisions one-at-a time as the cashier scans each item. This would slow the customer service aspect of the store, frustrating every customer waiting in line. It is a guerilla tactic worthy of consideration.
Store owners would be forced to respond.
Uglycuss at 12:12PM on 07/02/08
i never understood why massachusetts is the only state where shoppers are not able to look at the shelf directly underneath the object they are planning to purchase for the price. why do they need to have store employees spend more time pricing each item individually, thus raising costs to store and consumer? i moved from massachusetts to washington recently, and i have no trouble at all discerning prices of items.
dmarina at 1:24PM on 07/02/08
I was reading this article, and was sort of astounded that there was a state that didn't have price tags on the shelf. Is this really the case?
How can consumer make easy value comparisons without the unit pricing info on those labels? Individual price tags can be so deceptive. It's even worse now that some manufacturers are shrinking their packages.
This should probably should have been clarified in the original post.
eschk at 2:21PM on 07/02/08
I live in Taxachusetts and this kind of upsets me. I don't want to run down the isle every time I pick up a product to see how much it costs. I get downright ticked off when there are no price tags. And what happens when the scanner in the isle doesn't work?
Nope, I don't like this at all!
inspired bites at 8:19PM on 07/02/08
"I don't want to run down the isle every time I pick up a product to see how much it costs. "
Have you ever gone to a grocery store outside of Massachusetts? Do you honestly believe this is what happens when things aren't individually priced?
randomeater at 11:57AM on 07/03/08