Scan, Bag, Go

I’m not going to lie…I did not think I would love this new way of shopping as much as I do. You truly Scan, Bag, Go. That’s it. I was a little nervous trying it out, but a Kroger employee caught me starting one of my shopping trips and gave me a full tutorial. At my Kroger, you start by scanning your Kroger Plus Card with the handheld scanner provided to you at the store. It recognizes you and you just start scanning!

I’ve read that others are using the actual Scan, Bag, Go app while in the store to shop AND pay. I wonder if that’s coming next for us. I downloaded the app out of curiosity and it said I needed to be on the Kroger WiFi to log in and continue. If I find out more during future shopping trips, I’ll update this. (UPDATE: The app will work at my store. I have not tried it yet. I actually prefer using the store’s handheld scanner.)

How You Pay

Once you are finished, you head to the check-out if you are not paying in the app. At the register you scan another barcode and your entire order populates at the register. You pay just like normal. And leave. Your groceries are already bagged by you!

Tips for Using Scan, Bag, Go

Don’t forget your bags if you are using your own. This has actually helped me to remember to bring them into the store. There are plastic bags you can grab at the beginning and in parts of the store while you shop, but not everywhere. So think ahead about your bags.
Grab a cart that has a scanner holder. This makes juggling your list and coupons so much easier if you have a place to dock the scanner. Not all carts have holders.
Produce is not that hard. If you were given tips. The Kroger employee told me that most of the produce stickers don’t scan. However, the produce signs will work. So don’t scan the banana sticker! Scan the banana price sign instead. And once you scan the bananas, do NOT head straight to the scale. Scan all other produce and go the the scale when you are finished in produce. (Unless you are trying to log more steps by going back and forth to the scale 1000 times.) The scanner remembers the order of your produce and once you go to the scale and scan the scale barcode, the scanner will actually walk you through which produce to do. You will also be given the dollar amount and asked to answer YES or NO for each weighed item so you can decide whether or not you still want the item.
Put the item in the bag as soon as you scan it. This helps you know you scanned the item. I looked down and saw a pack of buns still in the cart out of a bag. Did I scan it?!?! I couldn’t remember. I wasn’t sure how to check so at the end of my trip, the employee printed a transaction receipt so I could look and see. The scanner can also remove an item, so I could have checked that way by trying to remove it. It also shows you the last item scanned and you can arrow up/down through that list as well. Now I make sure I scan it and then straight into the bag it goes.
There is a Price Check button if you need it.

Why I Love It

I already go to the self check-out whenever possible. So it didn’t bother me to scan my own items.
Price checking. I am the shopper who visits the service desk at least once or twice a month for a price adjustment. It just drives me bananas when a price is incorrect. At least now I’ll know the price immediately.
Produce. Honestly, the produce seemed so much easier than scanning it myself at the check-out.
I like seeing the running total of my grocery bill.
I love bagging my own groceries. I can thank years of working at a small town grocery store for that. I actually prefer to bag my own groceries.

What I Wish It Did

It still doesn’t track your “Buy 5 and Save” items. I’m sure Kroger is counting on you miscounting. But I cannot stand having to tally mark on paper my “Buy 5” items. (Almost as much as I hate selecting my coupons in the app.)
Not all of the features were working yet. The scanner is supposed to show you the weekly ad and if an item has a coupon you can download, but that didn’t work correctly either time I’ve gone.

Have you tried Scan, Bag, Go? Thoughts?

{My blog posts no longer contain external links. Websites update too frequently turning my links into errors. Since you found me, I’m sure you can also find Google and search quickly for anything I reference. This will make sure you are not frustrated by dead links and can get to current information quickly. This post is also not connected to any company or affiliation program unless stated. Basically, I received nothing for posting…I just had to share! Thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for visiting!}