GRAND RAPIDS, MI - With so many different formats and check-out options available to consumers, retailers must be proactive about keeping up with the competition. While Meijer has been busy branching out into new markets and testing out new store concepts, the retailer hasn’t neglected technological innovation. Meijer completed a 15-month initiative to test its new checkout service, dubbed Shop & Scan, at all its Midwestern stores, and most recently rolled out the program to 44 stores throughout Southeastern Michigan.

"As we've rolled the program out in six states, the response has been incredibly enthusiastic," said Stephanie Brackenridge, Director of Customer Experience. "Customers have appreciated the ability to have a choice in shopping how they want, depending on how their day is going. Many are finding the opportunity to personalize their store visit with a cell phone is a great way to save time and help avoid lines."

Shop & Scan offers customers the opportunity to shop and bag items as they go through the store, avoiding the dreaded checkout lines. Shoppers simply have to download the free Meijer mobile app, scan the barcodes of the items they wish to purchase, and bag their own groceries. Once their shopping is completed, customers can then scan their phone at a designated self-checkout lane and pay for their items.

According to a press release, the retailer’s mobile app has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times since its launch in 2018 in Grand Rapids, MI. Since then, the initiative has been expanded to other stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Even more telling is that once the app was downloaded, over 80 percent of Meijer customers have repeatedly used the Shop & Scan service during their shopping trips.

The retailer reports that its customers responded particularly well to the service’s integrated shopping list, running total, and the ability to clip any available mPerks reward coupons for items scanned.

For consumers, it’s all about the options, and the retailer also offers Meijer Home Delivery and pick-up services in all 246 of its stores throughout six states.

Will Meijer’s Shop & Scan influence more retailers to follow suit? Is this format the way of the future? Keep reading AndNowUKnow to find out.

Meijer