Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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portable screen as trolley

electronic shopping list in supermarket as trolley
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Any supermarket can be improved like this. At the customer service desk you can ask for a 'shopping screen'. As you walk through the aisles, it displays the products the nearest to the screen (RFID). When you see something you want, just touch the screen and it is added to the shopping list.

After shopping you hand over the screen and you pay. You tell when you want the goods at your home and you go home empty handed.

Less stock, less shop lifting, less damaged goods, more convenience. You can leave your car at home, just take public transport or walk/bike to the shop.

A combination with ordinary shopping is also possible. Certain fresh goods or products you immediately need you can take home, the rest is 'shopped through the screen.'

After shopping you can check the status of your shopping on a website and change your mind. Order more or less, extra items, change the delivery day or time and so on. Your shopping history/habbits are stored, so you can easily shop for the same things as last time. In the end, you only go to the store for inspiration, try/taste new products and so on.

After I got this idea I found the No Shelf Supermarket idea and I improved this concept a bit with the comments on that one.

How should I improve the Idea's name?

rrr, Apr 07 2005

No Shelf Supermarket No_20Shelf_20Supermarket
[rrr, Apr 07 2005]

Grocery store concierge service http://wholefoodsma...concierge-services/
Whole Foods concierge-services [Sunstone, Sep 29 2010]

[link]






       Very similar to internet shopping. I buy my monthly shopping online - delivered right to my door. Then when I need fresh meat/veggies etc. I pop into the shop.
Flux, Apr 07 2005
  

       //Very similar to internet shopping//
Except that you have to go to the shop, trail around for hours finding stuff, and queue to pay for it; three of the best reasons for internet shopping. What advantage does this have over on-line or physical shopping? It appears to have the disadvantages of both.
angel, Apr 07 2005
  

       A tactile interface. You can trail around is the advantage. But not for the daily stuff.   

       And in this case you don't have to queue to pay. Just hand over the device at the counter.   

       The goal is that going to a shop becomes a pleasure. Currently you are visiting a place that puts the emphasis on stock and logistics. Eventually it becomes a place to taste, touch and test things. Which is not possible to do online.
rrr, Apr 11 2005
  

       I was just about to post a similar idea and found this one while trying to find the right posting category. I have hoped for years that, pawn shops, dollar stores and thrift shops especially, would do this.   

       Real time virtual shopping of retail stores. I like to look at products in stores and shop for the best prices and goods. While shopping I learn of new products and make compulsive buys of goods I didn't know I wanted or needed. However, I do not like to dodge other customers and carts in undersized shopping aisles, dodging traffic crossing from the parking lot to the store, and waiting in line to buy the goods I have selected. I buy as much as I can on-line, but this is highly targeted "buying" things that I know I already want; compulsive shopping buys are seldom made, unfortunately for the business person. Sometimes I would like to drive to a local store and pick up the goods I want, rather than wait for them to arrive by mail. Sometimes I would just like to shop and see what is in stock. To simplify this I propose:   

       A still or video camera is mounted to a rail parallel to the display racks and shelves in a retail store Pictures are taken once a day or so, or more often in the case of thrift shops, pawn shops and other stores with fast and ever changing inventories. The pictures/ videos are placed on the Internet. A person goes to the website, scrolls up and down the aisles and various levels of shelves similar to Google Maps. The customer clicks on products to buy them or get more detail. Barcode information would be captured in the photo and read by bar code recognition software, or by electronic tag info transmitted to the x,y plotter-like location of the camera The selected products are bagged and the customer arrives at the store to pick them up and pay for them (or pay online) similar to Whole Foods concierge-services. If the customer has further questions, needs sales help, or pricing info on un-priced items they phone or online chat with a sales assistant at the store (who might be located off-site). This will put many more customers in retail stores that already exist but are too busy or in locations too distant, inaccessible by public transportation, or in areas unsatisfactory to some customers. A company could specialize in installing the cameras, doing the web work and maintaining the mechanics of the system. For non-local buyers, The retailer would handle on-line sales shipping and handling.
Sunstone, Sep 29 2010
  

       [Sunstone], that is worth a new idea shirley? I would bun it.
pocmloc, Sep 29 2010
  
      
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