MARTIN SLOANE | Supermarket Shopper Check out future of grocery stores

In a recent column, I wrote about the major changes that have shaped the way we now shop for groceries since Mike Cullen opened the first supermarket in the early 1930s. What does the future hold in store for supermarket shoppers? This is the first of two columns describing that future.
Like it or not, self-checkout counters are being installed at a rapid pace at supermarkets around the country. One out of four supermarket chains are now testing them or have begun the installation in multiple stores. The total count of self-checkout systems now installed approaches 3,000 supermarkets. For many consumers, the "let the cashier do it" habit has not been easy to break. However, in stores where self-checkout is available, shoppers typically choose it when there are long lines in cashier lanes.
Many supermarkets report that as many as 30 percent of their customers use it, especially customers who are buying just a few items or perhaps just too many to use in the express lanes.
Once you get the hang of it, self-checkout is easy to use. At the U-Scan Express, now found in most Kroger stores, a payment cashier supervises four self-check stands and provides any needed assistance, including a little training for first-timers. Shoppers who use it regularly say they prefer the control they have in scanning and bagging their own groceries.
One of the drawbacks for self-checkout is that it may not be convenient for large orders. Another is the possibility of waiting in a self-checkout line and discovering the shopper in front of you takes longer than expected. The installation of self-checkout will continue to grow because of the difficulty supermarkets have in hiring and retaining cashiers.
Price of the future
The typical supermarket changes 4,000 to 10,000 paper shelf labels each week. The labels are printed and employees place them on each shelf. It is a costly, labor-intensive process. If the label has an incorrect price, shoppers get angry. If the label is not placed under the correct product, shoppers have to search for it. Why not replace paper labels with electronic labels?
Actually, this idea has been around for more than 20 years. You might think supermarkets would jump on the bandwagon, but they haven't. A few pioneering supermarkets have installed or are testing them including some Shaw's supermarkets in Massachusetts, Festival Foods in Minnesota and Giant supermarkets in Binghamton, N.Y. The reason electronic labels haven't gained the favor of American supermarkets is the high cost.
A typical supermarket would require 15,000 to 20,000 shelf labels. Five years ago, when the price of labels was $12 each, it would cost about $200,000 to install them in a supermarket. Today, the cost of the electronic labels is around $5 each, more reasonable but still too expensive for most supermarkets.
Don't count them out yet -- electronic shelf labels have a bright future. The cost of the labels is still declining, and Peter Bartolotta, general manger of NCR's RealPrice division, says the breakthrough will come when the first major U.S. chain installs them. He predicts this will happen within the next two years.
United Feature Syndicate