High Tech Shopping Carts Offer Discounts, Ads 413
An anonymous reader writes "'Imagine walking down a supermarket aisle and hearing a chime as you pass the peanut butter letting you know it's on sale. Or picture reading the local five-day weather forecast, checking the Dow Jones industrial average and finding a new chicken and rice recipe, all from your shopping basket. Souped up with a computer attachment, your shopping cart could become a know-it-all that gives you special discounts based on what you buy or provides news and information as you sail through grocery aisles.' Full story here, and the Cart manufacturer's site here. I might just have to warshop in Moraga today..."
Grr..... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Practical use!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
I've already figured out how the bar codes worked at the local store, and, if I wasn't honest, I could alter the tickets that bottle refund machines give me to give back $10.00 on a 5 cent bottle.
And no, the cashier would be none the wiser - she just would scan in the altered bar-code, in either scenario.
Re:Practical use!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
Proper barcodes shouldn't allow you to do that. The barcode "number" should only relate to a database entry which then should give information such as price/discount details. Barcodes do not (or should not) contain any pricing information of any sort (see how barcodes work [howstuffworks.com])
In your scenerio, you should need to alter the barcode to reflect another database entry corresponding to the discount you are after (and I'm sure/hope the store doesn't sequentially allocate discount codes) AND get it past any fail safe systems the EPOS has in place ($0.05-$10.00: reject) AND hit on a discount code which at least slightly reflects the product description (say the discount voucher was for a bottle of shampoo and you just happen to hit on a $30.00 off champagne voucher - then the till-operator should spot the difference). Oh: don't forget the checksum at the end of the barcode as well.
If you can get away with this as easily as you make out - well, that store is just about asking to be ripped off: so name it here so they can be Slashdotted in a physical sense (imagine loads of geeks hitting the same store chain with faked vouchers :) )
Re:Practical use!!! (Score:4, Interesting)
There were coupons codes (4 digit, the bar code was 00000 0xxxx) for things like a BOGO shrimp ($12.99), free 1st birthday cake ($18), and so on. Plus there were lots of little ones, nothing as significant as that though, but they were sequential. One could make a night out of trying groups of codes, and in fact a few of us did.
The funny part was that the system never checked to see if you actually had bought (rather, were buying) the item that the coupon was good for, and would take off the amount anyway.
After I left, the store replaced it's backend system as part of a routine upgrade, and there were stricter controls over that, and also ways to be alerted when something odd was going on, so while it worked then, it's much harder to get away with now, at least for employees. I'm sure that any of us, as customers, could work something like that at another store where the cashiers have no idea.
For those who don't know, BOGO = Buy One Get One, as in by one, get one free.
Re:Practical use!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
And, no, I'm not going to identify the stores involved. Hint: They're located in Canada.
We already covered this (Score:2)
Re:Grr..... (Score:3, Funny)
Nagging shopping carts (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Nagging shopping carts (Score:3, Interesting)
How about a built in scanner so you can see how much something costs or keep track of how much you are spending?
Or a guide function showing you where a product is.
Re:Nagging shopping carts (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Nagging shopping carts (Score:3, Informative)
I can go inside. Insert my membership card into a display case and remove a portable electronic scanner to scan my own items. It gives me the last item's price and a total including tax. I can add and remove items easily. Once I'm done I return the scanner to the case and it prints a ticket with the total and a barcode. I go through an express checkout where my cart is weighed and ticket scanned. If the cart's weight is off they take the time to check the items. Otherwise I pay and go.
Not to mention the local markets also have lanes where I can walk up to a scan station and scan everything myself. This allows one employee to monitor 4 scanning stations(that sit in the same space as 2) and allows me to not have my bread sitting under my milk.
The only harm one could possibly see is that it reduces jobs.
Re:Nagging shopping carts (Score:2, Informative)
One of the supermarkets in the UK does something like this. Sainsbury's, I think. Even better, they trust you. You carry a barcode scanner with you (there's a holder for it on the trolley), and scan all the stuff you put in your trolley. It keeps a running total on it's screen, and at the check out you just hand over the reader. You need to be a member of their loyalty card scheme, and you do get random manual checks every so often, but it seems like a great queue saver.
Re:Nagging shopping carts (Score:2)
Anyway, that's my policy with service people - since some of them are my friends off-hours too.
Re:Nagging shopping carts (Score:2)
C'mon people, how damned lazy do you have to be? If you need to track your money that closely, you can do it without the annoying crap. If you aren't already doing so, spoonfeeding it by placing it in the cart isn't likely to help.
Fond Memories (Score:2)
The "cost per kill" of Hunting The Silver Buffalo just got higher.
the real reason (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:the real reason (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Advertising isn't going away, it's increasing, we are getting bombarded everywhere, now even in video game.
2) Why not give enough information to the sellers so that they can give me offers that I might actually like?
Example, if everytime I passed the Diaper isle, I was told about the sale on Pampers, I would ignore because I don't need diapers. Worse, it would become annoying. But if everytime I walked down the soda isle and was told Mountain Dew was on sale, I would buy it, even if I didn't need it, because we all know you can never have too much Dew.. For those privacy advocates out there, do you REALLY care that the managers of a supermarket know you buy a pack of pringles every shopping trip? Yes, I do care if the government wants to know, but not some store managers .
Re:the real reason (Score:2)
Re:the real reason (Score:5, Funny)
Re:the real reason (Score:2, Interesting)
The president and I sat down and worked out the simple logic for it and basically we really don't care what each individual was buying. Our software would determine that and we'd get trends etc, but no one person would ever know what an individual would buy. Unless you specifically asked to see that person's buying habbits.
Re:the real reason (Score:5, Insightful)
You think that if you buy mountain dew frequently that they're going to give you a discount? Dream on. You'll more likely find out that mountain dew is the one beverage that you NEVER get a discount on.
(But their competitors might start offering discounts on stuff you'd never drink in a million years)
Re:the real reason (Score:5, Funny)
A better way of accomplishing this - if you are putting Gerber baby food in your cart, the computer will tell you that diapers are also on sale because the two items are linked in the store's database. Or, if you are buying the latest issue of Wired, the computer would automatically assume it would be pointless to tell this customer that condoms are on sale in aisle 12.
My point is that advertising can be better focused without having a huge, all-knowing database.
Re:the real reason (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem isn't that the manager knows. The problem is that any number of "trusted" employees will know. One or more of employees may be willing to resell (or just give away) your information. Heck, for the right amount of money I'm sure the store will happily sell the information. I for one purchase personal hygiene and pharmacy products at my local supermarket. If I'm a politician trying to appease a rigid Catholic demographic, I might prefer that my political opponents not be able to prove that I purchase of condoms or birth control pills. I'd rather my health insurance didn't have the opportunity to analyze my buying habits of aspirin and antacids to decide if I've become too risky. Or even if my health insurance decides I buy too much junk food, my auto insurance decides that I buy too much alcohol. Or perhaps my opponent for a county board seat will get the information and claim, "Bob sure buys alot of alcohol, are you sure you want someone who buys that much alcohol on the board?" A potential employer might make collecting such information part of their check on me before hiring me.
The probably isn't that the store knows. To the store I'm only interesting as a relatively anonymous consumer. The problem is that once the information is collected that it will become available to other people who may be interested in me personally. There is a serious risk of abuse. If government agents who have been specifically screened for security purposes occasionally decide to abuse the information (like Robert Hanseen [cnn.com], a few Michigan police [freep.com], amoung other cases), why should I trust the night shift manager at my local supermarket who hates his job at my local supermarket?
Re:the real reason (Score:2)
Re:the real reason (Score:2)
Guess what Slick, the government wants to know:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/96167_saf
And even if the governement wants to know, I don't want Safeway collecting information on my shopping habits and then selling that information to other companies. You may be willing to sell your privacy for a few cents off a can of soda, but I'm not willing to sell out so cheap.
thx,
eric
Re:the real reason (Score:2)
I don't think talking peanut butter is there to necessarily track you, but probably to just make you notice it. Sort of like all the stacks of things they put int he middle of the isles to get in your way. It's just so you'll look at it.
Re:the real reason (Score:2)
That may be the only reason that has any real importance, but most of that information could be inferred from the checkout records. In any case, I tend to avoid stores that try to optimize for customer spending; Pack N Save, and Toys R Us spring immediately to mind, with their forced traipse through aisle of garbage before you are permitted to walk to the aisle that has what you really came in for.
Actually my recent buying has been through online boutiques. The kids toys, clothing, etcetera that you can find in little online web pages goes way beyond the trash posing as products available in Babies R Us.
Re:the real reason (Score:2)
please god make it stop (Score:2)
Re:the real reason (Score:5, Insightful)
Once upon a time, for example, everyone's shopping habits were "tracked" by the grocer behind the counter. He could easily gauge the buying habits of all his regular customers and make appropriate recommendations. The anonymity of the modern shopping experience is more of an accident than an expectation.
Tracked customers hurt us all (Score:2)
The benefit of the ID card is that, with testing, a store can raise its prices to just below the point where a majority of people stop buying. The bottom line is that if you use the card, you contribute to higher prices for everyone.
I remain capable of looking at the in-store sales tags that are placed next to, or on top of, the existing shelf price tags. I don't need or want a talking shopping cart, nor do I want everyone else's carts creating noise pollution.
Shoppings carts with computers.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Shoppings carts with computers.. (Score:4, Funny)
This was where you could go and get accessories for your carts, get corporate sponsored cardboard housing etc...
We would sell luxury collapsable cardboard condos, a tow strap for your shopping cart that you wore like a backpack (which allowed for hands free mobility!)
for some reason - I couldnt get funding.
Worth it? (Score:2)
Pleeeeeeze. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:OT: spelling (Score:2)
Why? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Why? (Score:2)
Won't affect me (Score:2)
A tech that will annoy me (Score:2)
When I go through a store, I never buy things in cans. They taste bad. Only fresh veggies. I buy chicken, pork, and steak based on the size of the package, not how much it costs. In short, my tastes and buying criteria are sufficiently different from the other shoppers' so that any talking shopping cart will be always suggesting things that I would never buy.
What I'd like... (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, it'd need to be able to handle removing items, too. And customers would have to go into it knowing that their carts total does not guarantee a total at checkout. (otherwise stealing and overpricing would be way too common).
Re:What I'd like... (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.symbol.com/products/consumer_systems/co nsumer_pss_ls.html [symbol.com]
It's a nifty system, you scan as you go and the screen keeps track of all your preferred shopper bonuses and shows a grand total for the purchase after tax and everything. To take an item off your bill you hit the minus key and scan the barcode again.
When you're done shopping you hand the scanner back to the cashier and pay up. They do some spot checking once in a while to keep you honest, but I can still see some loopholes in the system.
PS: The screen-on-cart idea was done a decade ago by a chicago company called VideOcart. They tanked spectacularly (and not just because yamhead Karl Denninger was on the staff)
Re:What I'd like... (Score:2)
I once made one for a laptop, but just to dink around with the barcode reader. Yes, you need to enter the price/description of each new item. You'd also need to update prices when your market changes them.
As others have already observed, the market makes fewer sales if the customer knows how much they're spending, so don't expect co-operation from the shop owners.
--
Those things are getting wrecked (Score:2, Insightful)
When I first read the slashdot description, I imagined a flat panel dispaly mounted in the front of the cart, like the paper adds are now... and the content would change depending on where you are. That would be equally usefull and less likely to get destroyed.
Either that, or turn the thing around nad put a videogame on it so te little brat sitting in the cart's seat has something to do besides cry
Also... what about theft protection? Not that it would be usefull outside of the store, but people don't always steal stuff because they actually need it...
=Smidge=
Re:Those things are getting wrecked (Score:2)
I guess if you want to pick it up and carry it you can still steal it but otherwise - it is immobile.
.
Re:Those things are getting wrecked (Score:2)
Why stop there? (Score:3, Funny)
My grocery store had this 12 years ago (Score:5, Informative)
I remember that... (Score:3, Funny)
It was kind of nifty, but it didn't exactly change the shopping experience. I think they also wound up with people stealing the carts-- not sure exactly what use they'd get from a stolen cart computer, but whatever.
Perhaps what the carts really need is a heads-up display. Or at least a "points" display on the existing LCD screens so that you can get credit for running into stuff. Bonus points if you trigger a "cleanup on aisle 4" announcement.
Shopping List and Tuning Out (Score:2)
Great Ideas (Score:2)
These are cool ideas that will help businesses cater to their best customers. I don't see what is wrong with that. It is usually a minority of your customers that provide the majority of your business. Keeping them happy should definitely be a priority.
Many of the ideas for the carts are very, very similar to what we we did w/the online shopping that Safeway offers. They've just moved the technology into the store- out of the browser. It is interesting to me that folks would not get so worked up about those things being in place when they are online- but get riled up when it is in the store.
I would be interested in what they do to make the hardware durable.
All Safeway stores already have wireless equipement and a LAN in the store. (we moved from token ring to ethernet here in AZ 5 or 6 years ago)
Cool stuff I think.
.
How aware of their surroundings will they be? (Score:5, Funny)
'Cause it's going to be open season on carts that try to sell me shit.
Die, Squeek-Wheel, DIE!
I saw this over 5 years ago (Score:2)
If I remember correctly, there were little tracking beacons suspended from the ceiling. It was pretty cool then but it apparently never cought on. Can't imagine it will now, although I'm sure the technology is a hell of a lot cheaper.
Too Expencive (Score:2)
Potentially embarassing (Score:2, Interesting)
Already doomed... (Score:2)
a few weeks ago there were such carts in a supermarket here in Kiel (Germany). You could see customer jump in surprise when those carts started babbling. After a short period of time the customers knew, which carts were equipped with such devices and avoided them. Soon all those carts were removed from the store.
As i even dislike store clerks who try to talk to me unasked, i may not be the right person to judge this idea ;-). But if those carts become standard issue, my wire cutter would too.
Yours, Martin
So when... (Score:2)
How to make our lives worse (Score:2)
The biggest improvement in shopping carts... (Score:3, Insightful)
Why this is not well thought out (Score:2)
This is a silly idea - why would a chime tell me that the peanut butter is on sale. Let me consult the local SF writer and tell you how useless this would be:
Online shopping carts already do this! (Score:2)
so I get my discounts, the browser gives me ads and stuff, and I get to sit on my duff and do it from home.
They put the shopping cart in the browser, and I think i worked pretty well. But I putting the browser in the shopping cart? Why? Can't they track me well enough through my "Safeway Card"?
They offer discounts so I use it...
So lets see- cheaper tracking through discount cards. A computer that I can spill my starbucks on and break.
Gee, it doesn't sound cost effective.
In Other News (Score:2)
With the inclusion of GPS technology, carts are now able to inform thier current owners of vital information:
"Mad Dog 20/20 now on sale at Ben's Liquor, 20th and Main"
"Steam Grate opening available. Off street parking for cart. Cardboard box enclosure optional. Two blocks down, behind library. Ask for Crazy Tux."
Imagine... (Score:2)
Just imagine. What a wonderful world it would be! This is much better than that John Lennon song.
Self-locking carts: how do they work? (Score:2)
One of the four wheels in encased in a plastic housing--very compact, only slightly larger than the other wheels. I imagine this contains the locking mechanism.
Does anyone happen to know what the mechanism is or how it works?
No wonder they call us "consumers". (Score:5, Insightful)
I used to shop at Albertson's because they were the one store in my area which didn't use the friggin savings cards. They actually advertised this. Now everyone's using the cards, and they're marketing it on TV like it's a good thing for us.
Every time I go to the store, the clerk asks me if I have the card, and I politely say "no, can I use yours?" Sometimes they have a card sitting there, but more often than not, he'll interrogate me as to why I don't want a card. If forced to get a card, I'll either fill out phony information, or I'll check the box that says I don't want to give my info (if there is one). Then I conspicuously forget the card on the counter when I leave.
One time, the clerk was being especially pushy about getting me to sign up for the card. The customer behind me overhead our conversation and butted in "personally, I like the savings." Meanwhile, people in the aisles on either side of me obediently furnished their cards, one after another, from their overstuffed purses and massive keychains. What the hell is wrong with you people?
Re:No wonder they call us "consumers". (Score:3)
Sweet! (Score:2, Funny)
[rolling down the aisle]
*beep*
cart: "Your girlfriend needs tampons, see the specials on Tampax in aisle 5."
you: "She does? Already? It seems like yesterday..
cart: "Seeing as you're not getting laid tonight, check out the sale on golf balls in aisle 2."
This could be a great thing! (Score:5, Funny)
Checking your stocks... (Score:5, Funny)
"My tech stocks are doing great! I need some chips."
[check stocks]
"Ohh! Gourmet Potato Crips!"
[check stocks]
"Hmm.. Maybe Ruffles instead"
[check stocks]
"Oh.. This no name brand looks good.. "
[check stocks]
"On second thought, that opened bag in the discount bin might be best..."
[check stocks]
"Dang... Anyone wanna buy a shopping cart?"
nothing new (Score:2)
Will Wil Wheaton please stand up? (Score:2)
Maybe Wil can come up with a better name for the 'Klever Marketing' company. :)
Oops, pardon me, my bad, excuse me, coming through (Score:5, Interesting)
There were some sort of sensors on the top of the panel (IR maybe?) that would receive information from transmitters suspended from the ceiling in each aisle.
The carts would let you know which items were on sale in that aisle, could provide a map of the store or direct you to specific items that you were searching for.
The big problem was that everyone who brought their kids shopping let their kids push the carts so they could play with the displays, and the kids wouldn't watch where they were going (some of the adults didn't, either!) and so they would constantly be running into each other, knocking into displays in the aisles, etc.
After about 3 months, they gave up and removed all the displays from the carts and I've been able to shop safely without worrying about someone ramming a cart into my achilles tendons every few minutes...
I personally don't miss them and I'm glad to see them gone.
Killer App: Shopping list display on cart: (Score:5, Insightful)
Let me look at the list and check items off.
If you want to get crafty- tell me what aisles my products are in and tell me what sales you are having.
To make it even craftier- add that UPC scanner, and let me scan in my cupons- THEN have the cart tell me which one is cheaper.
All I react to are "sales" and the sales associated with the club card. If Diet Pepsi is on sale I'll buy that instead of diet coke, and vice versa. I have relatively little brand loyalty so gear your advertisements in a way that works.
Re:Killer App: Shopping list display on cart: (Score:3, Interesting)
I consistently spend less when I shop than when my wife does, even though she prepares the list either way. If it's not on the list, it's not in the cart. I also do the math, so that coupons for expensive brands are used only when the actual price beats the store brand.
The grocery store is filled with opportunities to make sub-optimal buying decisions -- two of my favorites:
You will never see the stores provide any technology that helps you evaluate prices. If they had their way, the only price you would get is a total for the entire cart!
old. (Score:2)
It didnt last very long at all...
PDA Interface (Score:2)
Have an interface where you can plug your PDA. I generally write my shopping list on my Palm. Plug it into the cart, and let it tell me where everything is this week, and the price I can expect to pay for my list. I don't have to waste time looking up and down the aisles (I can never remember where anything is there), and I know approximately how much I'll be spending.
However, I don't see this happening. If I'm not browsing to find item X that I want, I won't see item Y that they're trying to push on me. And, as I said in a previous post, we won't see price-adding on them because the rising number will scare alot of customers.
Are they serious? (Score:2)
Point one is that in reading the preceeding comments it would appear to me that the majority of the posters find this idea to be somehwere between misguided at best, or downright dumb at worst.
Point two is that in my overall slashdotting experience (which is still limited granted) I have found that slashdotters care about technology and will support something merely because it involves technology.
The final point would be that due to the fact that slashdotters tend to embrace technology ( a generalization I know, but bear with me), and that their reaction to this technology is negative, I have a hard time believing that this is going to work as well as the marketers may believe.
Since its double coupon day, I'd say that this is my $0.04.
Re:Are they serious? (Score:3, Interesting)
It is always double coupon day at my local Martin's.
Seriously, I suspect - and I'm making a HUGE generalization here about
I believe the negative reaction is the commericialism - the feeding of ads to you - and the data collection this sort of device may provide to 'corporate overlords'. There is a strong anti-capitalism trend (did I say that?) - and that is ONLY my opinion - and it manifests itself against anything that could remotely be seen as government or corporate meddling in privacy or personal data.
I can't fault anyone for that at all.
BUT -- I want coupons for my favorite foods and I elect to have these things provided to me - just like I tell the clerk in the electronics section that I'll come get them when I'm ready to ask questions; pester me before then and I'll leave. If I don't want to be bothered; I don't use the card or I don't click to get the free sample. If you can elect to use the device or not; then I see no problem with it - if you must use it to shop then I see the store adopting them closing down very quickly because even people that want such 'amenties' don't often want them shoved down their throats.
I hope I got all that right and no one sanctimoniously corrects me this time.
There's some palm software out there like this... (Score:2)
If the whole thing were non-intrusive; regardless of the gimmicks - by this I mean ads didn't ring you or start flashing [and making your eyes and stomach hurt] then this might be a good thing. The trick to the cards is that even though they track your purchases and offer you a string of coupons based on competing products or your buy 3 get 1 free of the one you regularly buy; they are a one swipe thing. My wife already does a lot of the non basic foodstuff shopping - that is, for meal kits and such not produce/sugar/bread - entirely based on her coupons/SmartSource/ StartSampling.com, etc.; why not make it a little easier for her?
Let me make a correction...! (Score:2)
Anyhow the point of this exercise is that even that hasn't taken off yet if I recall. There are too many people out there with little yellow notepads and Ziplocs or accordion coupon holders yet; and they won't "migrate" any easier than your users do when you give them automation.
worthless (Score:2)
Theift (Score:2)
Why do I have the feeling, that I just created an idea for a new
Wobbly Wheels (Score:2, Funny)
Why? (Score:2)
The last thing I want is to have a screen on the cart telling me the Dow closed 10 points up and Israel killed Palestinians while it's also trying to sell me Cheerios and Prego. If I want to know the news, I tune to NPR on my way to and from the grocery store. I also don't want to be shopping in a nice peaceful bliss, picking up some Krispy Kremes, splurging on good beer, to find out about the latest tragedy.
I dread WalMart getting these - all the red, white, and blue fake patriotism while they advertise the latest crap movie now available on DVD.
But how long will they last? (Score:2, Interesting)
A better suggestion. (Score:2)
What I really need is a system that will suggest effective pick-up lines for that cute lady in the frozen food section, triggered by her buying preferences:
(if she's buying Lean Cuisine frozen lasagna) "Hi. You look great! Do you work out?"
Yeah, that's a nice idea but... (Score:3, Insightful)
There has got to be a way to arrange it so that the customers can share the delivery costs and still save money compared to driving their own vehicle to the supermarket.
I can't believe WebVan blew a billion dollars on this.
How about a map? (Score:4, Funny)
Checking the Dow Jones Industrial Average? (Score:3, Insightful)
No, wait, that's a stupid idea.
Some people seems to have forgotten that you first identify a problem, then you provide a solution. Providing a solution, then looking for a problem is usually doomed to failure. I fail to see a realistic case where getting stock quotes in the supermarket solves anyones problem.
This is a bit dated... (Score:3, Informative)
LCDs weren't too fond of cold and wet weather, but since the carts were kept under cover in the parking lot, and since you had to put in a DM1,0 deposit in it (like the quarter keeper at american Aldi groceries) there was also little cart loss/misplacement.
Robot Cashiers... (Score:4, Interesting)
Now, I'm not sure why this was unsettling. Maybe because I used to do cashier work, or maybe because the store was so deserted at the time I went. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. I guess I've experienced my very first taste of "Future Shock." (Which in itself was unsettling for someone who would normally identify themselves as belonging to the Paranoia Pro-Tech secret society.)
I, Neo-Luddite (Score:4, Insightful)
"There's the TV. It's all right there. Commercials. We are not productive anymore, they don't need us to make things anymore, it's all automated. What are we for then? We're consumers. Okay, buy a lot of stuff, you're a good citizen. But if you don't buy a lot of stuff, you know what? You're mentally ill! That's a fact! If you don't buy things...toilet paper, new cars, computerized blenders, electrically operated sexual devices... SCREWDRIVERS WITH MINIATURE BUILT-IN RADAR DEVICES, STEREO SYSTEMS WITH BRAIN IMPLANTED HEADPHONES, VOICE- ACTIVATED COMPUTERS,
I'm sick of all this crap. I want to walk through my !@#$ing local grocery store, unmolested, and enjoy the process. Is this so hard to understand?
Blue Light Special (Score:3, Funny)
Nice Web Site! (Score:4, Funny)
Low tech method (Score:3, Interesting)
Something else I've noticed, I was buying Silk soymilk for a long time, and then I switched to 8th Continent soymilk. Every time I buy 8th Continent, I get a coupon for Silk! So I buy the Silk the next week, no coupon, and then I go buy 8th again, and yep, coupon for Silk again.
There's no way in hell this'll work (Score:4, Insightful)
Why would these super-nifty carts be immune to this? Why would they not suffer the same fate? It's damn near impossible to keep people from being stupid and smashing into stuff, or taking the carts home with them.
Another thing to consider is the fact that these are going to be very expensive. Most grocery stores aren't raking in the cash, and if they have to but a few thousand carts every few weeks to replace stolen or damaged ones, they're either going to go belly-up or forget about the whole thing.
Re:We already tried this... (Score:2, Funny)
Needless to say, we tried to get the car out. We tried piling up snow, we tried pushing, and rocking, and shoving, and pulling. Nothing.
Then someone got the bright idea, "Hey, what about those cart screens? They're pretty thick.".
So we stick the cart screens under the spinning tires. *ZING* A cart screen goes whizzing by my head. Er...
Long story short, we ended up getting the car off the little rock using the cart screens we had left. Needless to say that NONE OF the screens worked again.
One of the funniest episodes in my life, now that I'm looking back at it.
Re:Lets make a cart supper computer. (Score:2)
Thanks for the opportunity to actually work that into a post.
Re:Lets make a cart supper computer. (Score:2)
Linux Hippies resigned to employment as store box boys could now refer to themselves as Beowulf Cluster operators while out collecting the carts.
Re:Just what we need (Score:5, Funny)
Go out and kill the people yapping on phones, bring them home and eat them. Not feeling too hungry, just take a screaming kid. The stigma that goes with being a cannibal will quickly dissipate when the regular shoppers can shop phone yapping, kid screamin', aisle blocking scum free and we just have to put up with the discount cards.