Walmart has announced plans to extend its Scan & Go iPhone checkout system to more than 200 stores by the end of 2013.
Walmart officials first rolled out the Scan & Go checkout system near its home base in Bentonville, Arkansas. Since first launching, the program has expanded to nearly 70 stores in the United States.
The retail giant plans to keep the system available for iPhone users only at this time. Android support is “expected” in the near future according to a company spokesperson.
The Scan & Go iPhone checkout app is simple to use, buyers just scan the barcodes on items as they shop. Scanned barcodes are then tallied, and a payment is made at a self-checkout lane. Customers can choose to pay with cash or use a credit card.
Unfortunately, Walmart has not yet made plans that would allow Scan & Go checkout to be used with mobile payment systems.
The list of markets to receive the new Walmart payment tech in 2013 so far include Austin, Denver, Phoenix, Omaha, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wyoming, Montana, Seattle, San Jose, and Portland.
Walmart and other retailers are actively seeking new and exciting ways to serve their customers while limiting the number of physical employees at their brick & mortar locations. By putting the check out responsibility in a user’s hand, Walmart can have one employee monitoring a dozen self checkout lanes.
Other possible technologies available to Walmart include the highly touted NFC standard and PayPal payments. Home Depot has rolled out PayPal solutions at all of its hardware stores nationwide.
The big question now remains whether or not customers will take to the new payment systems en masse. If early testing is any indication, many users actually prefer mobile payments to cash or traditional credit card forms.
Are you willing to scan your own items and make a payment on your way out of your local Walmart?
[Image via trekandshoot / Shutterstock.com ]
