Howdy everyone,
Recently Stop and Shop has rolled out a new version of Scan-It devices, and to the best of my knowledge the Waterford store was one of the first stores to receive this updated new scanning system
Today was my first experience with the new devices, which differed significantly from the first version devices that S&S has used since 2008. For those of you that don't know, Scan-It devices are these little handheld scanners that you get as you enter a Stop and Shop or Giant supermarket. As you shop, you scan the items you select and as you shop, it will show you your total, savings, coupons, and other things of the sort.
 |
| A Gen-1 Scan-It Handheld |
Scan-It was Stop and Shop's second attempt at creating an interactive scanning device, with the more obscure Shopping Buddy preceding the Scan It. Contrary to Scan-It, the Shopping Buddy devices were only found at a handful of stores and were much more bulky than its streamlined successor.
 |
| Shopping Buddy device ©Getty Images |
Right off the bat one of the biggest differences between the first and second generation scan-it device was that the newer scan-it devices adopted a new touch-screen format contrary to the older version's button-based interface. The software on the new Scan-It devices is identical the downloadable app, which enables a user's phone to function similarly to a handheld scan-it.
Another big difference is that the dock that holds the new scan-it devices (pictured at the top) is significantly smaller than the older gen-1 docking stations. Older docking stations were capable of holding 24 scan-it handhelds while the newer docks can only hold 15. Usually a store will have two docking stations; one at each entrance.
 |
| A Gen-1 docking station which holds 24 Scan-Its |
Besides the upgrade from buttons to touch screen, not much else changed as far as what the device is used for. It still does the same functions of scanning, totaling, and price checking, which gen-1 handhelds did as well. The one perk that I must say, however, is that the new interface is much nicer than that of Gen 1 devices. Also, now that the scanner button is on the back of the device rather than on the front, it just feels more natural to use, which I guess is another benefit.
So there you have it... A review of the new Scan-It devices coming to many Stop and Shop and Giant stores. Keep an eye out for these nifty devices making their way to a store near you. Although much hasn't changed, it is nice to see the aging Gen-1 scan-its getting a bit of a face lift.
