4 ms·

All stores should just lock down all items, and have customers ask what they want and bring them to the front. That's how stores are run in the third-world.

JimtheCoder 4y ago
Isn't this how stores used to be run anyways? Give the list to the grocer, he get's your food ready, etc?
- snordgren 4y ago
  I've been wondering how much value could be generated if people could order their regular purchases months ahead of time. I am absolutely going to need to buy pasta three months from now. Why can't I purchase my pasta now and save the grocery store the effort of stocking the shelf just for me to pick it up? Long-term preordering could probably save labor and make demand forecasts more accurate. Just a thought.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    Yeah, a lot of stuff is seasonal, so there should be a deal to buy a hundred pounds of carrots in October vs April. Certainly the retailer pays differing prices or runs its own cold storage warehouse at a cost. I don't understand why Canadian and US prices are so sticky. In Europe, a frozen pepperoni pizza might cost you 3,78 EUR and the vegetarian will cost you 12 centimes less because the retailer passes on their differing costs. Meanwhile in Canada/USA, I'll take the 3-meat because it's the same price.
    - gruez 4y ago
      >I don't understand why Canadian and US prices are so sticky. In Europe, a frozen pepperoni pizza might cost you 3,78 EUR and the vegetarian will cost you 12 centimes less because the retailer passes on their differing costs. >Meanwhile in Canada/USA, I'll take the 3-meat because it's the same price. Be careful, even though they're the same "price", the net weights are different so they're not actually the same price.
voisin 4y ago
That’s how most stores were run until the 60s. Also, that’s how Amazon works now :-)
Scoundreller 4y ago
A lot of Canadian ones are doing "click-and-collect". Either for free, or a small fixed charges that's absolutely worth it. I especially like it when they have a limit of 10 on some special, so I pick up 10 from my online order, and grab 10 from the store. Substitutions could use some more logic. Soda often goes out of stock. I don't need 40 bottles, but I'd like a mix of 10 of whichever 4 I like are in stock. That's a lot to ask of their ordering system, so I get 10-40 bottles...
- gruez 4y ago
  >I especially like it when they have a limit of 10 on some special, so I pick up 10 from my online order, and grab 10 from the store. ...or just use self-checkout and ignore the limit.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    tbh, I never tried to find out if the system enforced those limits or not. I'd guess... it varies.
    - scruple 4y ago
      The Ralphs near me, in SoCal, does. I was tired at the end of a long day of managing 3 sick kids and a sick wife. In my absent mindedness, I had 17 items in the 15 item self check out. I had to get a clerk to come over and authorize it for me.
      - Scoundreller 4y ago
        That's one thing. Then there's loss-leader sales limited to "2 per customer/family" or some such because they know someone would fill up their cart with it. Of course, if you self-check out and pay cash, they're less likely to spot you with the reduced supervision of self-checkout.

JimtheCoder 4y ago

Isn't this how stores used to be run anyways? Give the list to the grocer, he get's your food ready, etc?

snordgren 4y ago
I've been wondering how much value could be generated if people could order their regular purchases months ahead of time. I am absolutely going to need to buy pasta three months from now. Why can't I purchase my pasta now and save the grocery store the effort of stocking the shelf just for me to pick it up? Long-term preordering could probably save labor and make demand forecasts more accurate. Just a thought.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  Yeah, a lot of stuff is seasonal, so there should be a deal to buy a hundred pounds of carrots in October vs April. Certainly the retailer pays differing prices or runs its own cold storage warehouse at a cost. I don't understand why Canadian and US prices are so sticky. In Europe, a frozen pepperoni pizza might cost you 3,78 EUR and the vegetarian will cost you 12 centimes less because the retailer passes on their differing costs. Meanwhile in Canada/USA, I'll take the 3-meat because it's the same price.
  - gruez 4y ago
    >I don't understand why Canadian and US prices are so sticky. In Europe, a frozen pepperoni pizza might cost you 3,78 EUR and the vegetarian will cost you 12 centimes less because the retailer passes on their differing costs. >Meanwhile in Canada/USA, I'll take the 3-meat because it's the same price. Be careful, even though they're the same "price", the net weights are different so they're not actually the same price.

voisin 4y ago

That’s how most stores were run until the 60s. Also, that’s how Amazon works now :-)

Scoundreller 4y ago

A lot of Canadian ones are doing "click-and-collect". Either for free, or a small fixed charges that's absolutely worth it. I especially like it when they have a limit of 10 on some special, so I pick up 10 from my online order, and grab 10 from the store. Substitutions could use some more logic. Soda often goes out of stock. I don't need 40 bottles, but I'd like a mix of 10 of whichever 4 I like are in stock. That's a lot to ask of their ordering system, so I get 10-40 bottles...

gruez 4y ago
>I especially like it when they have a limit of 10 on some special, so I pick up 10 from my online order, and grab 10 from the store. ...or just use self-checkout and ignore the limit.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  tbh, I never tried to find out if the system enforced those limits or not. I'd guess... it varies.
  - scruple 4y ago
    The Ralphs near me, in SoCal, does. I was tired at the end of a long day of managing 3 sick kids and a sick wife. In my absent mindedness, I had 17 items in the 15 item self check out. I had to get a clerk to come over and authorize it for me.
    - Scoundreller 4y ago
      That's one thing. Then there's loss-leader sales limited to "2 per customer/family" or some such because they know someone would fill up their cart with it. Of course, if you self-check out and pay cash, they're less likely to spot you with the reduced supervision of self-checkout.