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Tops brings Shop + Scan to more stores

Regional grocer cites strong customer response to mobile checkout app

Russell Redman

May 31, 2022

2 Min Read
Tops Shop+Scan mobile checkout-customer scan.png
The Tops Shop + Scan app allows shoppers to scan products with their smartphones, keep a tally of their purchases and pay by a barcode scan at checkout.Tops Markets

Tops Friendly Markets has expanded Tops Shop Scan mobile checkout functionality to 24 stores.

Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops reported just before the Memorial Day weekend that Shop Scan launched at another five New York stores — Dunkirk (3955 Vineyard Dr.), Cheektowaga (3865 Union Rd.), Williamsville (5274 Main St.), Hamburg (4250 McKinley Pkwy.) and Ithaca (2300 N. Triphammer Rd.) — adding to the 19 New York locations already offering the service.

Available via a free download (in iOS and Android versions) the Tops Shop Scan app enables customers to scan products themselves with their smartphones, keep a running tally of their purchases and pay by a simple barcode scan at checkout.

After opening the app, shoppers scan their Tops BonusPlus customer loyalty card to get started. Next, they begin shopping by scanning barcodes on products, and items are automatically added to their list of purchases. For fresh produce, customers put items on the scale, enter the price lookup (PLU) number, print the label and then scan the barcode on the sticker. Loose bakery items have barcode tags on the self-serve cases that can be scanned by Shop Scan users. While shopping, customers also can delete items on their scanned list. BonusPlus and other savings and rewards are applied automatically. Shoppers complete their transaction by scanning a barcode on the touchscreen at a self-checkout station, along with any printed coupons, or by having their code scanned at a manned checkout lane. Alcohol purchases will require identification at checkout.

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“We are excited to continue the expansion of this innovative new technology and provide it to even more customers throughout our service area,” Jill Sirica, manager of digital marketing at Tops, said in a statement. “It’s so easy to use. All you need to do is download the Tops Shop Scan app, connect to our free in-store Wi-Fi, enter your Tops BonusPlus card number and you are ready to shop. Our hope is to continue the momentum and add additional locations in the near future.”

During the past year, Tops has rolled out Shop Scan to 14 locations. Other communities with Tops stores offering Shop Scan include Arcade, Alden, Medina, Baldwinsville, Amherst, Lockport, Rhinebeck, New Paltz, West Seneca, Depew, Derby, East Amherst, Orchard Park, East Aurora, Grand Island and Buffalo/Kenmore, N.Y.

Overall, Tops operates 150 supermarkets in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, including five run by franchisees. The chain is part of Northeast Grocery Inc. (NGI), a new company formed late last year through the retailer’s merger with Schenectady, N.Y.-based Price Chopper/Market 32.

Related:Albertsons to test Veeve smart shopping cart

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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