Mobile Technology Projects: A Key Player for Future Shopping Faced with strong competition by onlinestores, retailers are looking for new ways to improve customer service and lower operating costs. They have found mobiletechnology to be the key for achievingthis goal. Scan-as-you-go mobile devicesare a logical next step after the selfcheckout used by many retailers. Retail experts predict the new mobile-based retail devices could eventually bring about the end of traditional cash register systems. The mobile checkout stations pioneered at Apple stores appear to be the future. The goalisto speed up and improve customer service and to keep consumers in stores and spending. Checkers Stop & Shop retail stores use a mobile devicecalled Scan It that hangs on the handle of the shopping cartand allows customersto shop and scan asthey go throughthe aisles. Ifthere is a coupon for an item, the device quicklygives the customers a credit and the total is recalculated. The device is smart enough to alert the customer if there isa coupon for a complementary item, such as coffee creamerif the customerhas purchased coffee. Shopperswhouse the Scan It device spend about 10 percent more thanaverage. Clothing retailer H & M is also using mobile devices, which it issues to its sales associates on the floor so they can scan items on the spot and let customers pay without going through the cash registers. The Makro uses a device called FirstPhones as an inventory tracker. Ifthe item is out of stock, First Phones quickly notifies the customer whether a nearby store has it, thenholdstheitemforthecustomertopick up. Wimpy is using a digital wallet model that allows customers to pay using their smartphones. Answer the following questions:

2. What is the name of the device used by CheckersStop & Shop retail stores? (5)

4. RFID tags are being increasingly used by retail stores such as Makro and Game Stores. Identify additional companies that uses RFIDs and write a one-page paper that describes the companys specific application of RFIDs. (10)