Self-serve grocery checkout introduced in Las Vegas area

Phil Levine

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 10:55 a.m.

Smith's Food & Drug Stores is introducing the grocery equivalent of "pay at the pump" to Las Vegas.

The supermarket chain Thursday became the first in this market to offer "U-Scan," a fully automated checkout system. The U-Scan check-out stations enable customers to scan, bag and pay for purchases by themselves.

The system is designed for purchases of 15 items or less, and features touch-screen technology along with voice prompts to guide customers through the process. However, the system is not without a human element: a cashier is on duty at the front of the cluster of four check-out machines at all times during operation.

Shoppers can self-pay for groceries using cash, debit or credit cards. If they choose to pay with check, the transaction must go through the cashier on duty.

The Smith's store at 10616 South Eastern in Henderson is the first U-Scan test location in Las Vegas.

"We felt that was the appropriate choice as it is our newest store in this area," said Smith's Vice President Marsha Gilford.

Gilford said the U-Scan system provides customers with a quick alternative to standing in line when all they need to purchase is a few select items. The automated check-out system is currently installed in more than 150 stores in 18 states and Canada. Citing proprietary concerns, Gilford declined to reveal the unit costs.

Utilizing the self-service checkout, customers wave their purchase over a scanner and the price is automatically calculated on the screen before them.

If the purchase is a product without a Universal Price Code -- such as fresh fruit or vegetables -- the customer places the item on top of the bar code scanner. A small camera over the code reader is activated, and the cashier identifies the item from an image displayed on a color monitor at the cashier's station. The cashier then remotely enters the correct code.

Chad Dalessandro, U-Scan project manager, said Las Vegans should feel right at home when paying for groceries on the system.

"Much like the newer slot machines at many of the casinos, the (U-Scan) machines have state-of-the-art technology in accepting (dollar) bills," he said. The machine also dispenses the correct change, as well as a printout of the grocery bill.

Gilford said shoplifters won't be able to benefit from the new system.

"In addition to the security devices we normally have in place, the video camera can detect when items are placed aside without being scanned," she said. "Also, the video cameras on the U-Scan machines can notify cashiers when customers have oversized items or require age verification."

Smith's doesn't expect the introduction of the self-checkout system to reduce staffing levels, Gilford said.

"You have to remember that a cashier will always be staffing the (self) check-out units," she said. "We've also kept the unions apprised of all of our plans."

A spokesman for the United Food & Commercial Workers' Union could not be reached for comment.

A representative of U-Scan developer Optimal Robotics Corp. says the company has installed the system for several supermarket chains throughout the United States.

"Among the stores using our system are several Kroger's supermarkets, as well as A & P, and Smith's among others," said Cathy Rotiroti, Optimal Robotics' director of project management. Smith's stores are owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger.

"Our clients tell us that more and more customers are doing light shopping two or three times a week, rather than just one large shopping spree. This type of express self-service is well-suited to allowing supermarket customers to get in and out of the store quickly and efficiently," Rotiroti said.

A 1998 study published by the Food Marketing Institute appears to confirm that view. The survey found that shoppers now make an average of 2.2 visits to the supermarket every week. That same study revealed the importance customers place on convenience: nearly 60 percent of shoppers surveyed said they chose their primary grocery store based solely on convenience.

Although they may never proliferate at the rate of slot machines, it's likely the number of Las Vegas grocery stores offering self-checkout systems will grow.

"That's certainly an option we may examine in the near future," said Carolyn White, spokeswoman for Raley's Supermarket and Drug Center. "Having just entered the Las Vegas market, it's a little early for that. However, we want to be an industry leader in providing our customer a wide range of services, so we'll be monitoring how well customers respond (to the system.)"

A spokeswoman for Albertson's Inc., parent of the Lucky Supermarket chain, said the company already offers self-checkout at its stores in Boise, Idaho, and Seattle. The company has no "immediate plans" to introduce self-checkout into the Las Vegas market.

However, if the U-Scan device proves popular, Smith's hopes to expand the self-checkout system throughout Metropolitan Las Vegas.

"Between May and October, we've expanded the system to seven stores in Utah, and have been really impressed with the response," said Gilford. "If the response in Las Vegas is similar, we will certainly look to expand it into other stores."