iPhone App Totals Groceries And Hints At Self-Service Future

I know that one of the things that everyone can relate too is the dread that standing in line waiting to pay for your groceries brings. I always stand there worrying that my ice cream and frozen stuff will melt before the cashier gets everything in the carts ahead of me totaled up and the person gets done paying. I have long wished that RFID tags would come along and make checking out as easy as walking up the register and swiping your card.

A new iPhone app has turned up that is by a company called Modiv Media and the app is being implemented in 375 Stop & Shop supermarkets in the eastern US. The awesome app allows the user to scan the bar codes on their purchases and totals them all up on the phone. The app is called Scan It and it is very easy to use. The user scans their loyalty card and then takes the iPhone in the store. The user scans the items with the phone and bags them as they shop.

The stores say that on occasion a clerk may check the bags to be sure that the shopper scanned everything, but it's mostly an honor system. The clerk gets the total from the iPhone and then the user pays. It sounds like a very cool system and I for one hope that it rolls out to stores all around the country. This is a great glimpse into the future of shopping and if nothing else, you can use the app to be sure you stick to your budget as you shop since it totals your purchases.

[via Technology Review]