It's because they're not using the information they have to create differentiation. Trade dollars still drive this business. The opportunity it there, however, to use customer information to craft a more customer centric approach. For example, experts estimate that more than 95 percent of all supermarkets have adopted POS scanning and are in some way capturing this data. While other types of retailers have been scanning at point of sale for almost as long, most of their efforts to integrate technology stop there.
Shoppers can place their deli order when they first arrive and pick it up on their way to checkout.
Another store that sells wine and liquor has a kiosk that can aid shoppers in choosing an appropriate wine. Other new areas are electronic shelf labeling and self-checkout stations, which have been hyped in the trade press for some time now but have only recently begun to appear at the stores. While the initial cost of the technology is high, supermarket operators view electronic shelf labeling as a tool for improving efficiency and reducing labor expenses. Similarly, self-checkout has begun to surface at some chains, but installations remain few and far between. In most instances they have a firm grasp of the possibilities and practicality of implementing these new technologies, but the cost keeps them from moving more quickly.