Top 10 reasons retailers upgrade to area imagers

TRADITIONAL laser scanners read linear barcodes at the point of sale — a technology that greatly simplified checkout. But today’s highly developed area-imaging scanners enable greater capability and flexibility, putting far more productivity into the hands of retail employees and allowing for revenue-generating mobile marketing initiatives.

Imaging technology is firmly established as a cost-effective, durable, technologically capable alternative to laser-based systems. Plus, imagers
 are capable of supporting retailer’s mobile marketing programmes, capturing mobile coupons right off customers’ smartphone screens or automatically collecting their information from ID cards for loyalty programme auto-enrolment.

1. Enable revenue generating mobile marketing programmes
Innovative retailers are fighting fire with fire, improving their e-commerce presence and adopting the consumer’s mobile phone as a new marketing medium. Promotions sent via SMS text message or via loyalty apps increase shopping visits, generating both immediate incremental revenue and improving long-term share of wallet. The most commonly used technology to electronically identify loyal shoppers and redeem mobile coupons are 2D barcodes rendered on mobile phone screens. And that requires a high performance, area-imaging barcode scanner at the point of sale.

2. Automate loyalty programme enrolment
Mobile marketing drives incremental foot traffic, but repeat customers must be enrolled in your loyalty programme before opting into a mobile marketing programme. The best place to enrol shoppers is at the point-of-sale, where you are assured a personal opportunity to engage and enroll the shopper.

3. Easy, instant age verification
Many retailers selling age-restricted products like alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and lottery tickets, require their checkout clerks to verify shopper age and/or identity at the
point of sale.

4. Supplements in-counter bioptic scanners
While imaging-enabled bioptics are capable of scanning barcodes rendered on mobile-phone screens, retailers are concerned about handing phones to checkout clerks and assuming responsibility for accidental damage that could occur during the hand-off. A supplemental 2D handheld or fixed customer-facing scanner adds value, scanning mobile-phone screen-based barcodes without the phone leaving the shopper’s hand. In addition, a supplemental handheld scanner improves checkout accuracy, scanning large under-the-cart items while eliminating the potential for injury when lifting heavy items out of the cart.

5. Scan any barcode off nearly any surface
Imagers decode barcodes from pictures. Imagers are not as dependent upon reflected light as compared to laser scanners. Imagers can therefore scan barcodes off paper, mobile-phone screens and other surfaces. And they can decode any barcode: traditional or matrixed, including “QR Codes” rendered on mobile-phone screens that identify shoppers or promotions at the point of sale.

6. Hybrid laser/imager bioptics optimise pass-through scan performance
While all-imager bioptic scanners can read codes off mobile-phone screens, they do not deliver the pass-through linear barcode scan performance that legacy all-laser or Honeywell hybrid laser/imager bioptics provide. And associate-facing bioptic scanners do not ergonomically allow shoppers to self-scan promotional or loyalty barcodes off their mobile-phone screens.

7. Ease of use
Area-imaging scanners are capable of omni-directional reading — making it easy to scan a barcode regardless of angle or orientation.

8. Capturing document images
Area-imaging scanners can capture images of a wide range of documents for easy, economical storage, instant access and improved workflows — a cost saving use case adopted by many leading retailers.

9. Lower the total cost of ownership
Reliable area-imaging scanners by a well-known manufacturer will help you to lower the total cost of ownership.

10. Improve the customer experience
Whether it comes to faster linear scanning performance, scanning promotional codes or digital wallets code off mobile-phone screens, faster age verification or faster loyalty programme enrolment, area imagers improve the shopping experience by shrinking checkout lines, reducing checkout times and enabling mobile marketing programmes that shoppers cherish. And that sets you apart from your
competition. 

*Based on a white paper by Honeywell