HY-VEE SETS EARLY '98 TEST

LINDA PURPURA

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hy-Vee Food Stores here will begin testing stationary self-checkout units in two stores in the first half of 1998.

Ron Waldbillig, assistant vice president of management information systems at Hy-Vee, said that the chain has not yet determined which stores will receive self-checkout units or which system it will put in. He added that Hy-Vee is in the final phase of its research in this area.

Waldbillig said the reason Hy-Vee decided to move forward with the test was to determine whether self-checkout units enhance customer service and improve front-end productivity by getting customers checked through more quickly than traditional checkout methods. He said many consumer surveys indicate that fast checkout is one of customers' top priorities.

Walbillig said Hy-Vee has researched self-checkout systems several times in the past but chose not to implement them at that time. "Now we're convinced that we want to test it to see if indeed those benefits are there," he said.

Self-checkout systems are gaining attention in the supermarket industry. Some of the retailers using stationary self-checkout systems include: the Louisville, Ky., division of Kroger Co., Cincinnati; King Soopers, a part of Dillon Cos., Hutchinson, Kan., a subsidiary of Kroger; Star Market Co., Cambridge, Mass., in one store in a Boston suburb; and A&P, Montvale, N.J., in two stores in New Jersey.