Add Texas-based grocer H-E-B to the list of merchants installing mobile self-checkout systems to its stores. As the following CBS Austin story reports, H-E-B is piloting a mobile-based app that integrates with a kiosk QR code which enables shoppers to skip the checkout line.
The future of grocery shopping is here, courtesy of a brand new app that lets you skip the checkout line and walk right out with your stuff. It’s like a fast pass for the grocery store.
H-E-B has quietly launched a brand-new technology called “H-E-B Go” in 7 stores around Austin.
It’s the latest push to keep up with their tech savvy consumers.
“Grocery shopping is certainly changing and evolving and H-E-B is keeping pace with every way that our customers want to shop,” said Leslie Sweet, Director of Public Affairs.
You must first download the H-E-B Go app, then walk around with your phone and scan your items and bag as you go. Geoffrey Sanders is one of the first customers to try the new technology in Austin.
“You just scan everything and go. It’s much quicker than before when you had to wait in line. I’m very impatient and I don’t do lines very well so anything I can do to avoid them is welcomed,” Sanders said.
U.S. grocers are jumping in with both feet to provide convenient and immediate shop and pay apps for their customers. While 2019 will see a major increase in mobile self-checkout apps, click-and-collect mobile ordering systems are fast becoming table stakes for major grocery chains. Mobile order with delivery is another service that can be found in all metro areas as well. The grocery vertical is highly competitive and operates on thin margins. Consumers will ultimately determine which grocers have rolled out the best mobile apps that meet shoppers’ needs. Stay tuned and watch the fun.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group