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Skip the checkout line: Hy-Vee allows customers to scan, shop, pay with mobile phone

With the new app, shoppers can scan item barcodes on their smartphones while they browse, skipping the checkout line in favor of a mobile checkout kiosk.

MINNEAPOLIS — A popular Midwestern grocery store chain is helping customers shop smarter, not harder, by implementing a new checkout system that's accessible by phone.

Hy-Vee's "Scan & Go" app offers a "quick and convenient" way to shop and pay for groceries. Shoppers can now scan item barcodes on their smartphones while they browse, and skip the checkout line in favor of a mobile checkout kiosk located at the front of each store. Currently credit and debit cards are the app's only accepted forms of payment. 

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Lakeville Hy-Vee store director Jack Stortenbecker said customers who have used the app said they like being able to see the total of their groceries as they shop and bag their own groceries along the way.

"You control the whole process beginning to end," Stortenbecker said. "Then when you're all done, you're not waiting on a cashier."

When it comes to keeping shoppers honest, Stortenbecker said they don't expect any additional security concerns. In order to pay, shoppers must stop at a kiosk to scan and pay their total, and an attendant will be there to verify shoppers' items. He likened it to having attendants at self-checkout lines.

"It's really no change," he said.

Also within the app, users can find directions to their nearest participating location while accessing the chain's latest deals and personalized offers. Hy-Vee says members of its Fuel Saver + Perks and Hy-Vee Plus programs can also still earn and redeem rewards while using the app.

While still in its pilot stage, Hy-Vee says the app can only be used in select locations. In Minnesota, participating stores include Austin, Cottage Grove, Eagan, Lakeville, Mankato, Rochester, Savage and Shakopee.

Hy-Vee's Scan & Go is currently available and free to download for both Apple and Android users. 

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