(Bloomberg) -- Take that, Amazon.
Kroger Co., the largest grocery chain in the U.S., is expanding its so-called “Scan, Bag, Go” technology to 400 stores, part of a bid to prove it can thrive as Amazon.com Inc. pushes deeper into food retail and competition heats up across the industry.
The system allows customers to use a handheld scanner to log grocery items in their cart as they shop, while also viewing coupons and a running total of their order. The service is meant to speed up checkout, and Kroger says that customers will eventually be able to pay for their groceries directly through the app.
Kroger's announcement follows Amazon's debut of its cashier-less convenience store prototype, known as Amazon Go. Target Corp., meanwhile, has installed self-checkout kiosks in stores.
Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods last year fueled pessimism about Kroger and other conventional grocers, with investors betting that the old-guard of the grocery industry will lose ground to the e-commerce giant. Kroger has pledged to adapt and is increasing investment in technology, while launching forays into restaurants and clothing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Giammona in New York at cgiammona@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder, Lisa Wolfson
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