BOB > wrote:

> Are you getting a discount for doing their work? You are eliminating
> a job, so are you getting the financial benefit from this lost job?
> Or is the store just making more profit from you, like in the "self
> serve check out" (which never works correctly).

The way I see it is that the system is eliminating work, not
getting the customer to do it. In other words, you already
walk around the store taking stuff off the shelves and putting
it in the cart, this system just eliminates taking the stuff
out of the cart and bagging. The customer isn't
really doing more work (less if you count putting stuff on
the checkout belt), putting stuff in a bag in the cart is
no more work than just putting it in the cart. As for where
the cost savings go, supermarket margins are miniscule and
if one store can charge a few cents less per item they generally
will because the competition is so fierce. Yes, one store might
enjoy some extra profits for a while, but as soon as another
store nearby has the same technology market forces take over.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.