Author: BWild

Mobile Consumers can now enjoy a fast shopping experience with mobile scanning technology.

Retail giant Walmart is widening its mobile commerce footprint with its new Scan & Go mobile app that allows iPhone users the ability to scan the items they want to buy, which they can then purchase at a self-checkout with quick convenience.

New smartphone scanning technology provides shoppers with independence.

According to information from Walmart’s Scan & Go promotional material, “Scan & Go is a new way to shop in Walmart stores that allows YOU to take control of your shopping experience.” The new scanning technology transforms iPhone devices into mini mobile shopping helpers that allow consumers to browse the store, scan what they want, place the selected scanned products in their basket or cart, and head to a self-checkout where they pay for their scanned goods and leave. Customers can shop and go with no fuss and skip the long checkout line.

The new mobile commerce application is expected to reach 200 stores.

Currently, approximately 70 Walmart stores are Scan & Go compatible. Based on information from a published report, the total number of stores expected to offer this mobile commerce service is 200. When all is said and done, the company’s aim is to introduce the scan technology to 12 new markets in addition to the Atlanta market and the areas near Bentonville, Arkansas where the technology already exists.

iPhone users who would like to gain access to the Walmart application will find it available for download at Apple’s App Store. When the user accesses the app in a compatible Walmart store, a message will be displayed giving the consumer the option to choose “Store Mode”. From this point, they can begin scanning product barcodes with their smartphone. When the customer is done shopping, they take their items to the self-checkout where they will able to pay for these pre-scanned products by transferring the data from their phone to the register by scanning a QR code displayed on the resister screen.

An Android version of Scan & Go is not yet available but will be released in the near future. Currently, the mobile commerce app is only available for Apple iPhone devices that run iOS 5 or higher.

The SEQR service will be using near field communication tech according to the company’s announcement.

An SEQR mobile payments service company based in Stockholm, Seamless, has just announced that its product will now include the use of NFC technology for more transaction options.

The latest predictions from the company say that it will be implementing the contactless tech any day now.

The company has said that the solution is ready and that consumers should expect to start seeing the NFC technology in stores any time now. At the moment, it uses SEQR, which is a method that applies QR codes that are affixed to the terminals at the point of sale in a store. This allows smartphone users to scan the barcodes in order to be able to complete a purchase transaction.

As with the former version of the service, the company’s app is required to use the NFC technology.

In order to make payments using the NFC technology, smartphone users must have an enabled device in which they have downloaded the Seamless app. From there, they can choose to either scan the QR code or they can tap the device to the NFC stickers, which will produce the same results. This action automatically uses funds from the user’s account to pay for the purchase.

Though the QR codes should still be available, the new solution will allow NFC technology stickers to be used instead by devices that are capable of using them. According to the president and CEO of Seamless, Peter Fredell, “This will make us a completely technology-independent option for retailers and users.”

Fredell also pointed out that “It still costs the retailer nothing to introduce SEQR, and no expensive hardware or complicated installation is needed. With the Seamless NFC solution, we have also solved the big security problems that were previously associated with NFC technology.”

The company has stated that its new mobile payments solution has allowed it to become the leading smartphone transaction service in Sweden. It has already been adopted by McDonald’s restaurants as well as by the grocery retailer, Axfood group, which has allowed it to become widespread throughout Sweden. Now, it will be bringing NFC technology to each of these locations, as well.