SCANNING THE GLOBE

JAMES FALLON

LONDON (FNS) -- Portable self-scanning technology, already popular with several leading U.K. retailers, is gaining ground in the rest of Europe.

Approximately 500 stores throughout the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Finland, Norway and Germany employ self-scanning technology.

With more customers scanning, bagging and paying for their orders themselves, these retailers have been able to reassign front-end personnel to a variety of customer-service functions, sources told SN. Retailers have also achieved strong results by tying the technology to their customer-loyalty programs.

With 150 stores using self-scanning, Safeway Stores, Hayes, England, is the largest single user of the technology in Europe. In addition, Albert Heijn, Zaandam, Netherlands; Waitrose, Bracknell, England; and J. Sainsbury here have all adopted the technology in some of their stores.

Tesco, Cheshunt, England, is reportedly evaluating the technology and plans to introduce it soon in conjunction with its home-shopping service.

Heijn, Safeway and Sainsbury's already are looking at the next generation of scanner technology, which would offer vehicles for one-to-one marketing and promotions, as well as providing customers with dietary and ingredient information. None of the retailers would say when they planned to introduce such scanners, however.

Self-scanning tests by two French retailers, Leclerc and Monoprix, both headquartered in Paris, are reportedly going well. Tests are also under way in Finland and Norway, and are planned by two cooperatives in Italy. Progress in Germany is slower, with only eight stores throughout the country testing the units, according to the source.

In the United Kingdom, the technology has achieved a fair degree of consumer acceptance. At Safeway, for example, a spokesman said that approximately 20% of customers shop with the portable self-scanners.

The European situation contrasts sharply with the United States, where self-scanning's growth has been slow and cautious. In addition, several chains are investigating the use of stationary self-scanning systems.

Retailers in the United States are showing a growing interest in both types of self-scanning technology. Two of the nation's largest chains, Kroger Co., Cincinnati, and Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla., for example, are expanding their use of self-scanning systems, albeit gradually.

"U.S. retailers are still skeptical about self-scanning because there is no immediate financial benefit," said a source familiar with the situation. "The mistake U.S. retailers, and our own people, have made is that they've just put them out in the store to see what would happen. But you need to market it and promote it."

The latest U.K. adopter of self-scanners is J. Sainsbury, which began testing the systems in about 29 of its stores in July 1997. The retailer expects to have them available in about 34 of its stores by the end of May, a spokeswoman said.

The portable scanners being used at Sainsbury employ radio frequency technology, which will eventually allow the retailer to use the devices for more targeted marketing to individual shoppers, said the source.

Tesco's use of the self-scanning technology will be for staff people filling home-shopping orders. There are currently no plans to make the technology available to consumers, a spokeswoman said.

All the retailers claim self-scanning provides no major financial benefit to them. While it does cut down on the number of checkout staff needed, the retailers have redirected these employees to other areas in the stores to improve customer service, they told SN.

"We don't find any significant cost benefit; it's primarily to provide better customer service," the Sainsbury's spokeswoman said. "There is some saving in checkout staff but we re-invest that in assisting customers."

European retailers also tend to link self-scanning use to customer-loyalty programs. Generally, customers swipe their loyalty card through a reader to access a scanner, use the scanner during shopping and then take both the scanner and their groceries to a dedicated checkout lane. The retailers spot-check shoppers to make sure they are using the scanners correctly.

U.K. retailers were reluctant to disclose whether customers who use self-scanners spend more than those who do not. According to research by ACNielsen in the United Kingdom, customers who shop using a calculator generally spend more than those who do not. Some versions of the portable self-scanning technology allow consumers to keep a running total of their purchases in the aisles.