There’s a nice article on the BusinessWeek blog about Apple revolutionizing the retail check out operation.
“BusinessWeek has an interesting blog entry on Apple’s ‘iPod Express table’, where they streamline the sale of iPods in their store. From the article: ‘But the best part was that the Apple Geniuses behind the table had wireless gizmos for scanning credit cards, and Apple had worked out a totally wireless, paperless checkout process, called EasyPay. Once scanned, they advise you that the receipt will be in your inbox within an hour (since I’m already a registered Apple customer, they didn’t even need to take my email or other information).'”
But of course the process is not without its fair share of issues.
The Symbol portable computers proved to be glitchy, although lots of customers weren’t paying with credit cards .Swiping credit or ATM cards sometimes often took several attempts, and re-booting the devices was not uncommon, further slowing the check-out process. Staffers also had to take care when entering the customer’s e-mail address for the receipt– one typo and the e-mail would bounce.
At the same time, at least one store had an unsightly collection of shopping bags underneath the display table, giving the operation a thoroughly unprofessional appearance.
Regardless of the minor hiccups, Apple seems to be improving everything it touches. Rock on!
via [Slashdot]