The "Big Brother" Shopping Cart

That's a novel idea but I can see people getting annoyed with it we are constantly bombarded with advertising as it is. Although some people will embrace the technology. I can remember when Austin put talking computers in there cars most people turned them off because of how annoying they where.

Who know we might get fridges in the near future that do a similar thing.

whether it helps or hurts with a diet i think has something to do with the advertisements. what ifyou're hungry while shopping (typical no-no)and all these adds for what you just bought come on an trigger a craving for soemthing else, perhaps. i think every diet really requires will power and discipline, if you can ignore the ads and continue on to complete your "health" list, then nothing will get in your way :D

No thank you. I see more potential fo rannoyance than any benefits with these. And I've found that for a lot of things, technology does NOT make it simpler - my grocery list on my fridge written on PAPER with an INK PEN works just fine for me, and if I'm feeling particularly anal retentive I'll re-write the list in the order the items will be found in the grocery store. Usually, though, no big deal, and if I have to go back for an item I've forgotten, well, extra exercise, right?

Hate the idea of the cart... except the one about the Pit Crew. I can TOTALLY get behind that one!

aren't we all advertised at enough already? is grocery shopping really so hard that we need help with directions around a store? I don't think so.

Loyalty cards (I don't know if you have those so much in the US) already keep track of everything I buy so the store can send more junk mail on offers that I'm not interested in.

I would imagine that most of us visit the same store regularly and don't need a guide. What's more, I want to be out of there as quickly as I can, the longer I stay fiddling with yet another computer in my life, the more opportunity there is to be tempted.

I don't like the idea of a shopping cart telling me where to go in the store. I'm an impulse shopper, and like to take a few hours each week to wander down isles and see what strikes my fancy. I try new and exciting foods this way, and had I stuck to a pre-planned shopping trip, i may never have discovered rosemary bread drenched in olive oil or how good those little peppers are because they're off my beaten path.

Of course, as it is, I rarely take a cart and usually just make due with a hand basket. It keeps me from buying the store no matter how hungry I am when I go.

Plus, if this is a microsoft deal... I can just see the damn things freezing up all over the store and needing to reboot. I worked at a store for a while and those self checkout machines? Yeah, they break daily.

Only thing useful to me in that is to have a running tally of what I've put in the cart (sure I mentally keep track but it would sure help the budget to see the cold hard number) but you know that is the part stores would soon disable.. as it would discourage impulse purchases. Also having the ability to type in the name of an item and find out where it was would be nice, for the occasional hard to find item.

Ugh, another way to advertise...that's all we need. Kids pointing to the screen while they're at the store with you screaming "Mommy, can we get that??" Greeeaaat. The only benefit I can see to this would be the barcode thing that tallies your purchases while you shop. That could save some major time. If the items have already been scanned and the total's been calculated, theoretically all the cashiers would have to do is run your credit card or take your money and bag the food for you. Plus, you could avoid going over your grocery budget for the week. As far as guiding you through the store, I think I'm intelligent enough to, ya know, read the signs above the aisles and walk there myself.

Goodness, that's all we need are more advertisements. I saw a t-shirt on the web a short time back, it said advertising space for rent, it listed how many people would see it a day, how many friends had etc. it would be funnier if it weren't so pathetically true. Anywhere somebody can dream to put an ad, somebody probably will. Any of the benefits aren't freebies. i.e. the scanner would be cool, but it's just bait to push the ads on you. It's like adware for shopping carts. No thanks.

"Keeps track of a grocery list and recall previous grocery lists"
"Suggests recipes based on items you've already purchased"

In a moment of weakness last week I purchased a lot of junk food, but this week I'm determined to concentrate on veggies. So the computer keeps directing me to the junk food aisle, because it's trying to be helpful, based on my previous purchases. Uh huh.

"Voice recognition technology to take instructions from shoppers"

The store is full of shoppers talking louder and louder trying to make their voices understood by their own computer in all the cacophony. Uh huh. It's bad enough listening to Musak.

Should this wonder of modern science arrive at my local supermarket, I think I'll shop elsewhere, thanks.

I like Mike's suggestions for improvements, however! :-)

Hi

It is a verynice and good post and I like it.

I agree with the poster who said it'd be worse than Musak. No talking shopping carts, please!