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Revolutionizing Home Grocery Shopping with the Personal Kiosk

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A new innovation in home grocery shopping is set to change the way people shop for their groceries. The Personal Kiosk, developed by HighPoint Systems Inc., uses Apple's Newton technology to enable shoppers to quickly create and send electronic shopping lists to their favorite grocery store for home delivery. This convenient appliance eliminates the need for trips to the grocery store, saving time and effort for busy households.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Personal Kiosk is a kitchen appliance that electronically links home shoppers with their favorite participating grocery store, enabling them to quickly create and send electronic shopping lists for home delivery.
  • The kiosk uses a cordless scanning wand to read UPC bar codes present on groceries, capturing the information and displaying item names on its notepad-sized screen.
  • The kiosk is connected to an existing home telephone line, allowing shoppers to automatically send the electronic shopping list to HighPoint's order management server at any time, day or night.
  • The Personal Kiosk can display current product pricing and availability, daily specials, new product announcements, advertisements, and more, giving shoppers valuable information to inform their purchasing decisions.
  • Field tests with a major supermarket chain showed overwhelming positive shopper response to the Personal Kiosk.
  • Jupiter Communications predicted that by 2003, over 28 percent of the population will be electronically purchasing groceries from home.

Statistics:

  • The Personal Kiosk uses Apple's Newton technology to enable shoppers to create and send electronic shopping lists for home delivery.
  • The kiosk can display current product pricing and availability, with 99% accuracy.
  • Over 25% of households in the United States have at least one member who cooks at home more than 5 times a week, making home grocery shopping a convenient option.
  • The average household spends around $120 per week on groceries, with 70% of that being spent on food at home.

Sources:

  • PRNewswire (July 31, 1995)
  • HighPoint Systems Inc.
  • Apple Computer, Inc.
  • Jupiter Communications, 1994 Report on Home Shopping
  • Andersen Consulting's SMART STORE research and development center

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