CINCINNATI — Kroger says the test of its new high tech self-scan checkout lanes has been so well received by shoppers, it has just expanded them into 20 Cincinnati-area stores.
And it plans to add the new lanes in more stores this fall.
The checkout — if you haven't seen one in your store yet — uses a belt to speed up the process, just like the cashier uses in the standard lane.
This eliminates one of the biggest complaints about standard self-checkout lanes: The lack of space for all your items.
Many people struggle to get their purchases into the bags on the little carousel, sometimes dropping a glass jar.
So Kroger's solution is a belt-driven self checkout lane.
Earlier this year, we tested it out at the Oakley Kroger Marketplace, where Kroger invited us to see the new lanes in action.
How the new lanes are different
Kroger's Jenifer Moore said that the new lanes have a belt, just like the clerk lanes, to move your purchase down to a large loading area, where a bagger then bags your groceries in most cases.
It's essentially a full-service checkout lane without the full service, because you will do your own scanning.
However, traditional lanes are not going away, Moore said.
"These stores will continue to have traditional checkout lanes with cashiers and courtesy clerks to assist customers and will also keep their existing self-checkout lanes," she said.
So if you are someone who likes a clerk to do the scanning for you, Kroger will still offer that.
But with staffing shortages keeping many lanes closed these days, it will be nice to have another option, and not have to fumble with a cartload of groceries at the tiny self-scan checkout.
As of August, you can now try out the new belt-driven checkout lanes at the following Cincinnati-area Kroger stores:
OHIO
383- Liberty Township (Yankee Road)
439- Liberty Township (Kyles Station)
441-Middletown,
444-Green Township
465-Oakley
468- Amelia
838-Fairborn
915- Anderson Township
938-Englewood
944-Delhi
948-Western Hills
959-West Chester
968-Colerain
KENTUCKY
367- Walton
392- Covington
410- Cold Spring
423-Newport
466- Florence
(A store in Dayton, Ohio, and Troy, Ohio now have the new lanes as well)
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