Ad Analysis: 1970s Stop and Shop

Ad Analysis: 1970s Stop and Shop

  June 25, 2018    Robby S.

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Alright here's something cool that I found online: the Google Newspaper Archives. So for those of you that don't know what it is, it's a repository of online newspapers that Google has archived and are available for public viewing.

One of the newspapers that they have on file is The Day which serves my area of Southeastern Connecticut.

I thought it would be a great idea to take a look back at some of the old ads that I could find and share them on here with you guys.

The first ad of notable interest that I stumbled across was this Stop and Shop ad in the Jan 2, 1970 edition of the newspaper:

The first thing that I noticed was that this particular ad used the older style shopping-cart logo ad which dates back to the Stop and Shop / Bradlee's era of stores.

What I first took a look at was the store locations at the bottom of the ad, which states there are locations at 902 Bank Street in New London, CT and at 1001 Poquonnock Road in Groton, CT

Incidentally, neither location remains a Stop and Shop at this point. The New London Stop and Shop moved down the road to its current location at 117 Boston Post Road in Waterford, CT. The former New London store has since been turned into a research laboratory for General Dynamics, who manufactures submarine vessels for the U.S. Army. The Groton store also moved in 1982, when a new Stop and Shop / Bradlee's store opened up a few miles north at 220 Route 12. After relocating, Big Y moved into the space, where it remains today.

So yeah, I don't exactly know how to end this now. Let me know what you think of these types of mini-articles, and I hope to have more coming in the near future

~RS

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New Stop and Shop 'Scan-It'

New Stop and Shop 'Scan-It'

  June 21, 2018    Robby S.

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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.

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Former Stop and Shop - Westerly, RI

Former Stop and Shop - Westerly, RI

  June 17, 2018    Robby S.

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FORMER STOP AND SHOP
PRESENTLY OCEAN STATE JOB LOT
CLOSED 2008
20 POST ROAD
WESTERLY, RI

So a while ago I tried to do a post on an old Super Stop and Shop that was located in Westerly, RI but I was only able to get a few pictures of the outside of the store at the time before I got yelled at to stop taking pictures by staff. Last weekend I happened to be in the area so I decided to press my luck again and get some more shots.

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Old School Stop & Shop - Cranston Parkade - Cranston, RI

Old School Stop & Shop - Cranston Parkade - Cranston, RI

  March 17, 2018    Robby S.

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SUPER STOP AND SHOP
CRANSTON, RI
204 GARFIELD AVE
CLOSING APRIL 2018

It's about time that I got around to doing a post on Stop and Shop.

How I found out about this awesome store is actually quite funny. I was travelling to Cranston in February to get some pictures for a Kmart right down the road (post coming soon), and while I was taking pictures a cop pulled up to my car. So at first I was thinking that he was going to tell me I had to leave and all that, but he actually thought I was trying to find Kmart and asked if we wanted to know where the nearest one was! So, I explained to him that I ran this blog and how I was documenting it, and he told me that the Stop and Shop which was also in the plaza was going to be closing in April. I originally anticipated on just taking pictures of the outside, but seeing the inside through the window I knew I had to go inside! The store hasn't been updated a bit since its opening in 2001!

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Papa Gino's, Waterford, CT

Papa Gino's, Waterford, CT

  March 04, 2018    Robby S.

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PAPA GINO'S PIZZERIA
117 BOSTON POST ROAD
WATERFORD, CONN

The Papa Gino's location in Waterford, CT has been closed since 2012. For those of you who aren't aware, Papa Gino's is a regional chain of New England pizzerias most known for their sponsorship of the Boston Red Sox. The pizzeria opened in 2000 and operated for the entirety of its life as a Papa Gino's / d'Angelo Sandwiches co-branded restaurant. It sat in the Stop & Shop plaza at 117 Boston Post Road, directly across the street from the Big Y that closed in 2008 (which you can read about here).

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