Content about Automatic identification and data capture

Mobility is sure to play an increasingly important role in Macy's omnichannel future, both in commerce and marketing. But don't look for the company to take a cookie-cutter approach.

Stamford, Conn. -- Quick Response (QR) codes are gaining increasing acceptance among consumers in North America and Europe, particularly among younger consumers, according to a new research report commissioned by Pitney Bowes.

QR code usage as reported by more than 5,000 consumers surveyed stands at 15% on average and at 27% for consumers 18 to 34 years old, according to “QR Code Use” study.

As convenience store operator Wawa expanded, it faced a logistics challenge: The company was adding more new stores, and its manually operated chilled warehouse had run out of room. Its production had outpaced its storage capacity, and the chain’s products were now being produced, staged on the warehouse floor and quickly shipped to make room for milk, teas and juices that were newly coming off the line. The distribution center’s storage space had surpassed maximum capacity.

Armonk, N.Y. -- An IBM "Institute of Business Value" study revealed that self checkout is the preferred way to shop for most consumers today, and more than half said they want to use a mobile device to scan while shopping, and to do final checkout at a self-checkout station. More than 40% want to scan samples and retrieve shopping items for pickup, or have the items delivered directly to their homes.

By Christine Wheeler, sales@newcastlesys.com

Thanks to wireless technology, carts with on-board power supplies are opening up new frontiers of efficiency, productivity, and profitability in retail stores and distribution centers. These mobile powered workstations (MPWs) carry computers, barcode scanners, and printers of all kinds, reducing foot travel and paperwork wherever they go.

Product diversification combined with major growth always translates into increased supply chain complexity. Such was the case for online specialty retailer Hayneedle, which started business in 2002 as Hammocks.com with a single-niche category site. Flash forward seven years, and the company had expanded its offerings to include more than 200 product categories. Given its growing business, an optimized distribution process became a top company priority. 


Reston, Va. -- Survey results released Monday by ComScore showed that approximately 6.2% of 14 million mobile phone users have scanned a quick response or bar code on their mobile device.

Among 14,452 users surveyed in that have scanned a QR or bar code, 58% of them scanned a code at home, while 39.4% and 24.5% of respondents have scanned codes at a retail store or grocery store, respectively. As far as what they scanned, 49.4% said they scanned a QR or bar code found in a newspaper or magazine, while 35.3% scanned product packaging.

Dallas -- Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange said Tuesday it has deployed a radio-frequency identification inventory management solution from Electronic Inventory Solutions in its showroom stores in Texas, California, and South Carolina, for the dual purposes of automating the inventory count process and adding additional physical security.

Merrimack, N.H. -- Brookstone has launched a new Quick-Response (QR) code program in 30 New York-area Brookstone stores, including locations in Rockefeller Center and JFK airport, to provide shoppers with reviews, videos and product information.

The program allows to shoppers will see black-and-white QR codes located next to products. By snapping an image with their smartphone QR application, consumers can quickly access real-time customer reviews and product videos and even shop a greater selection of similar products at Brookstone’s website.

Powell’s Books touts itself as being the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world, with an extensive collection of out-of-print and rare titles. The Portland, Ore.-based retailer also is among the growing number of regional chains that are replacing outdated and tedious supply chain processes with updated, seamless ones.