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Associated Wholesale Grocers enlists mobile self-scan solution

Partnership with FutureProof Retail brings contactless payment option to independents

Russell Redman

May 5, 2020

3 Min Read
Price Chopper Enterprises-McKeever store
McKeever Enterprises, which operates about 10 Price Choppers in the Kansas City area, has already deployed the FutureProof mobile self-scan system.Price Chopper Enterprises

With more consumers seeking contactless payment options amid the coronavirus outbreak, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has teamed up with FutureProof Retail (FPR) to provide mobile checkout to its independent grocery members.

Under the partnership, FutureProof will offer its mobile self-scanning checkout and counter-service platforms as a “no-touch technology solution” to AWG retailers, the New York-based payment specialist said Tuesday.

FutureProof said that, to help retailer, it will donate its checkout solution free to supermarkets and other grocery stores while the United States remains under a national state of emergency, which President Trump declared on March 13. Members of Kansas City, Kan.-based AWG also will receive “preferential pricing” beyond this phase of the pandemic, the tech provider added.

FutureProof Retail Self-Scanning Solution

Using the FutureProof platform, shoppers can scan products with their smartphone and bag them while shopping, enabling them to skip the checkout line.

“FutureProof Retail’s Self-Scanning Solution helps our members compete favorably in all markets served because it allows independent supermarkets to eliminate wait times at checkout and service counters, and it also enables social distancing in stores,” Stacy Bowen, vice president of sales and solutions at AWG, said in a statement. “It provides all required features out of the box and is easy to adapt and integrate into the existing store systems and processes.”

Related:Podcast: Higher tech use reshapes grocery shopping, Inmar’s Jim Hertel says

Using the FutureProof platform, shoppers can scan products with their smartphone and bag them while shopping. They then can skip the checkout lines by making payment and completing the transaction on their phone. Customers, too, can use the solution to order prepared food or deli items at in-store service counters while shopping and receive a notification when their order is ready for pickup.

AWG member McKeever Enterprises, which operates about 10 Price Chopper supermarkets in the Kansas City area, has already deployed the FutureProof technology.

“We are always looking for ways to enhance our customers’ experience and make their shopping trip quick and more efficient,” according to Tim Cosens, director of merchandising, marketing and technology at Independence, Mo.-based McKeever Enterprises. “We felt FPR’s solution was the perfect fit to accomplish that mission.”

As retailers of all stripes look to promote social distancing, self-scanning provides a way to lower the risk of exposure for customers and store associates, since shoppers won’t need to wait in a line. Grocery retailers like Publix, Kroger and Walmart, among others, have highlighted contactless payment as a safer method of completing transactions amid the pandemic.

Related:Publix deploys contactless payment for extra COVID-19 safety

What’s more, many shoppers already are looking for more convenient ways to make payments in stores. According to a recent study by Inmar Intelligence, 69% of shoppers would like to use a retailer’s mobile app to self-scan products and check out.

“We are excited to help AWG members increase customer convenience,” commented Di Di Chan, President of FutureProof Retail. “Being part of AWG’s retail systems portfolio combined with our free service offer makes it easy for AWG members to enter frictionless shopping without a huge upfront investment.”

The nation’s largest food cooperative for independent grocers, AWG serves more than 1,000 member companies and over 3,000 locations in 28 states from eight full-line wholesale divisions.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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