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Walmart brings its iPhone scan-and-checkout service to 12 new markets

By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, March 21st, 2013 at 2:13 PM

Walmart is tripling the number of U.S. stores in its pilot program that lets shoppers scan items with their iPhones and pay at self-checkout counters. The “Scan & Go” program will soon live in more than 200 stores, up from about 70.

And while that’s a significant progress, it only affects a small fraction of Walmart’s more than 4,000 stores across the country.

The pilot began near Walmart’s home office in Bentonville, Arkansas in late 2012, expanding afterwards to Atlanta.

At the moment, only iPhone users can “scan & go” though an Android app is in the pipeline as well.

The system allows shoppers to scan bar codes on items they want to buy to keep track of the planned purchases and the total cost. Then they pay at a self-checkout screen, bypassing the typical registers.

As I’m writing this, some 1,500 stores have self-checkout lanes, with another 1,000-1,500 stores getting them later this year. All these stores are potential “targets” for this program…

[Via: Reuters]

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

  • Roaduardo

    If ever set foot in a Walmart again it’ll be when this new service is fully running on both iOS and Android and it’s secure.