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Scan in your own trolley with Fujitsu U-Scan Shopper

Fujitsu Australia Limited

Sydney, July 20, 2005

Consumers can say goodbye to long checkout lines and hello to the new face of retail customer service: the U-Scan Shopper. Developed by Fujitsu, the U-Scan Shopper features a wireless, trolley-mounted computer that gives shoppers information and scan-as-you-shop convenience as they move through a store.

The Australian announcement of the product was made today at the 2005 Retail Business Technology Expo in Sydney.

"The U-Scan Shopper is the ultimate customer touch-point," says Vernon Slack, director of the U-Scan Shopper solution, Fujitsu Limited. "It will significantly change the future of the retail front end. The U-Scan Shopper puts service and checkout in the consumer's hands, reducing reliance on the point-of-sale for customer service and freeing store personnel to provide customer service in the aisles."

For the consumer, the system's wide range of on-trolley information and services includes:

  • Item scanning/self-checkout
  • Item price-checker and locater
  • Remote in-store order placement, such as pharmacy and delicatessen orders
  • Personalised offers tied to retailer's loyalty program
  • In-store digital media and promotions linked to trolley location in the store
  • Download shopping lists from retailer's Web site for in-store reference

"In a recent study, 61 per cent of consumers said that getting through the checkout quickly and without hassles is their biggest frustration," (Source: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young) says Marcus May, National Retail Industry Director, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand. "U-Scan Shopper is designed to address consumers' frustrations with checkout lines, price labelling, item location and other complaints. It can also improve the shopping experience in many other ways.

"For example, with the U-Scan Shopper, consumers can upload their shopping lists to the grocer's Web site before they leave home, then download that list to the trolley at the store. While moving through the store, the trolley provides detailed information on item location and price, along with location-specific special offers. The shopper can place in-store orders - such as pharmacy or delicatessen orders - from the trolley and scan items at the trolley, avoiding a long wait at the checkout. The U-Scan Shopper is 'smarter shopping' in action."

One-to-one marketing and customer loyalty for retailers

The U-Scan Shopper also helps retailers by providing a true one-to-one marketing opportunity. It includes a customer loyalty tool that delivers customised, personalised in-store advertising campaigns that are relevant both to shoppers' preferences and to their location in the store. Advertising and promotional offers are presented to consumers while they shop.

"Before the U-Scan Shopper, retailers had to drive customer loyalty and service at the point-of-sale with coupons and promotional offers presented after purchase," says May. "Now, retailers can increase the number of customer touch-points in the store and better inform the shopper on their purchase at the point-of-decision. This provides a more effective, measurable sales tool for the retailer while increasing customer satisfaction."

The U-Scan Shopper can be used either with or without the customer's loyalty card. If the shopper chooses to remain anonymous, the trolley will still display offers based on the customer's location in the store. Because the customer display unit is permanently mounted to the trolley, the shopper does not have to take any action to use it.

The display unit's browser-based application runs on Microsoft Windows CE .NET. The software seamlessly integrates with Fujitsu U-Scan self-checkout systems and all major self-checkout and POS applications, such as Fujitsu Australia's OnePOS and GlobalSTORE, IBM's Supermarket Application and SurePOS ACE. Computers are sealed in a polycarbonate cover and are built to withstand weather, temperature and physical abuse.

The U-Scan Shopper also meets objectives of Microsoft's Smarter Retailing initiative, of which Fujitsu is a member. A key focus area of this initiative, Smarter Shopping, enables retailers to take advantage of existing IT investments and familiar consumer technologies to create a personalised shopping experience that delivers the products customers want, in ways that are convenient and compelling.

"With the U-Scan Shopper, Fujitsu has brought an important product to market that addresses what time-pressed shoppers value most: excellent service, improved product availability, targeted promotions and convenient access to information that makes it easier to make informed decisions," says Brian Scott, general manager for Microsoft's Retail & Hospitality Industry Unit. "The U-Scan Shopper is an excellent Microsoft Smarter Retailing solution. It helps retailers tailor the shopping experience, differentiate themselves from competitors and win customer loyalty."

While developing the U-Scan Shopper, Fujitsu acquired worldwide patents and other intellectual property rights related to tracking the shopping trolley in the aisle, and advertising based on location in the store. "Each marketing message reaches an individual consumer at the exact product location where industry research indicates over 70 per cent of all purchase decisions are made," says Rod Vawdrey, CEO Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand.

"We believe that the one-to-one electronic communication of the U-Scan Shopper, its point-of-selection delivery and its patent portfolio provide a formidable first position in the in-store marketing space."

This article features in the August 2005 issue of interaction, Fujitsu's electronic customer magazine. Also in this issue:

From the CEO - Services Plus: The transformation of Fujitsu

WA Health renews with Fujitsu under $75m InfoHEALTH program

Fire up your LAN or WAN with a SAN

Tredex secures data and availability with Fujitsu SAN solution

Fujitsu adds another innovation first. The world's first bendable colour e-paper

Fujitsu marketing campaign highlights power of partnership

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About Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand

Fujitsu is a full service provider of information technology and communications solutions. Throughout Australia and New Zealand we partner with our customers to consult, design, build, operate and support business solutions. From strategic consulting to application and infrastructure solutions and services, Fujitsu has earned a reputation as the single supplier of choice for leading corporate and government organisations. Fujitsu Australia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited of Japan.

About Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting technologies, highly reliable computing and communications platforms, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion yen (US$45 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004.
For more information, please see: www.fujitsu.com

Date: 20 July, 2005
City: Sydney
Company: Fujitsu Australia Limited