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Does anyone have any economic information on what happened to grocery stores when the scanner was introduced? Did prices go down? What happened to those worker

Does anyone have any economic information on what happened to grocery stores when the scanner was introduced? Did prices go down? What happened to those workers? I bet consumers didn't notice any benefits. I bet wait times stayed the same because fewer lines were open. I bet prices didn't go down either.

lr4444lr 11y ago
Grocery stores operate on very low profit margins already. Also, agriculture/husbandry and mass transport is heavily subsidized and regulated (in thr USA at least). It's a good suggestion, but I don't think cashiers are a major labor cost, and suspect the lessons to be gleaned from that industry will have limited predictive power.
sanxiyn 11y ago
Following papers investigate this very interesting issue: Raising the Barcode Scanner: Technology and Productivity in the Retail Sector (2011): http://ssrn.com/abstract=1754469 http://ssrn.com/abstract=1754469 Change at the Checkout: Tracing the Impact of a Process Innovation (2013): http://ssrn.com/abstract=2215258 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2215258 Q. Did prices go down? A. Yes! Scanners reduced prices of groceries by about 1.4% in their first decade. (p<1%) Q. What happened to those workers? A. We don't know, but scanning stores reduced their wage bills by about 4.5%. (p<1%) Revenue didn't change. Data is insufficient to answer whether payroll reduction was achieved by reducing cashiers or deskilling cashiers. I bet consumers didn't notice any benefits but did receive benefits. I bet wait times stayed the same because fewer lines were open. I bet prices did go down.
jes 11y ago
When I go to the supermarket I go through a self-serve scanner to pay for my items. It's much faster than waiting in line. So yes, some consumers get benefits.
- orkoden 11y ago
  Using a self-serve scanner means you work for free for the store.
  - jes 11y ago
    No, not for free, but in a voluntary exchange for the benefits of not having to wait in long lines or deal with the cashier.

lr4444lr 11y ago

Grocery stores operate on very low profit margins already. Also, agriculture/husbandry and mass transport is heavily subsidized and regulated (in thr USA at least). It's a good suggestion, but I don't think cashiers are a major labor cost, and suspect the lessons to be gleaned from that industry will have limited predictive power.

sanxiyn 11y ago

Following papers investigate this very interesting issue: Raising the Barcode Scanner: Technology and Productivity in the Retail Sector (2011): http://ssrn.com/abstract=1754469 http://ssrn.com/abstract=1754469 Change at the Checkout: Tracing the Impact of a Process Innovation (2013): http://ssrn.com/abstract=2215258 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2215258 Q. Did prices go down? A. Yes! Scanners reduced prices of groceries by about 1.4% in their first decade. (p<1%) Q. What happened to those workers? A. We don't know, but scanning stores reduced their wage bills by about 4.5%. (p<1%) Revenue didn't change. Data is insufficient to answer whether payroll reduction was achieved by reducing cashiers or deskilling cashiers. I bet consumers didn't notice any benefits but did receive benefits. I bet wait times stayed the same because fewer lines were open. I bet prices did go down.

jes 11y ago

When I go to the supermarket I go through a self-serve scanner to pay for my items. It's much faster than waiting in line. So yes, some consumers get benefits.

orkoden 11y ago
Using a self-serve scanner means you work for free for the store.
- jes 11y ago
  No, not for free, but in a voluntary exchange for the benefits of not having to wait in long lines or deal with the cashier.