The Grand Rapids Press reports that Meijer plans to expand its video checkout system to all of its 176 stores in five states by the end of the summer.
According to the story, Meijer is working with NewSight Corp. to offer “in-store sales and Meijer brand products or provides such information as healthy living tips, recipes, its Community Rewards program and other services,” as well as content from ABC shows such as “Good Morning, America” and advertising messages.
Meijer has been testing the concept in 58 stores, and NewSight says that its surveys suggest that fewer than 10 percent of customers dislike the use of the technology.
According to the story, Meijer is working with NewSight Corp. to offer “in-store sales and Meijer brand products or provides such information as healthy living tips, recipes, its Community Rewards program and other services,” as well as content from ABC shows such as “Good Morning, America” and advertising messages.
Meijer has been testing the concept in 58 stores, and NewSight says that its surveys suggest that fewer than 10 percent of customers dislike the use of the technology.
- KC's View:
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We don’t live in any of Meijer’s markets, so we’ve had no first-hand experience with their checkout videos. And the NewSight website is curiously devoid of specifics about the company, at least that we could find.
But we feel strongly that any video system in a retail environment has to be first and foremost used as a way of promoting the retailer brand, and seen only secondarily as a way of generating ad revenue. If loaded with commercials and irrelevant content, these systems become just that much more noise in the store, a kind of visual and audio clutter that does nothing to enhance the shopping experience or reinforce the retailer’s connection to the consumer.
If the priorities aren’t right, then the system won’t work.
