Here is an example of how bar code scanning will permeate our lives:
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PlanetRx Unveils E-Commerce Bar Code Scanner
By Robert Conlin
E-Commerce Times
March 29, 2000
In an effort to streamline the Internet shopping experience for its
customers, online drugstore PlanetRx.com (Nasdaq: PLRX) has unveiled a bar
code scanner that will allow consumers to select and order items simply and
efficiently.
The South San Francisco-based company said shoppers will be able to scan
bar codes of products they have in their medicine chests and download the information to their
computers. Using the shopping cart feature on the PlanetRx site, consumers can then
automatically fill their carts with the scanned products, the company said, and place their
orders with a click.
The company developed its ScanCart system with technologies from JavaSoft and RSA
Security, it said, and linked it to a portable scanner offered by Symbol Technologies, a maker
of wireless and Internet-based mobile data transaction systems. The $159 (US$) unit operates
on two AAA batteries.
"By offering ScanCart shopping, we have married the physical shopping experience with the
virtual shopping experience and saved our customers time when shopping online," said PlanetRx
CEO William Razzouk.
Time-Saving Device
PlanetRx and Symbol Technologies say the scanner saves consumers the time of having to
navigate through product lists and categories.
"The time-saving is significant and it's been demonstrated already," Symbol Technologies Senior
Vice President Ron Goldman told the E-Commerce Times. "Based on conversations we have had
with many Internet companies, I can predict we'll be seeing a lot more of this in the near
future."
The Holtsville, New York-based Symbol Technologies is a $1.1 billion a year maker of wireless
and Internet solutions. The company recently signed a multi-year agreement with Intel to
create advanced wireless networking solutions.
Intel plans to invest $100 million in Symbol Technologies over the length of the agreement.
Salvation Through Innovation?
PlanetRx is hoping that the innovation will translate into more shoppers and increased revenues
at its site. The company booked revenues of only $5.1 million for the fourth quarter and $9.9
million for the year, while it lost a staggering $51.2 million for the quarter and $98 million for the
year.
Faced with intense competition from online drugstores Drugstore.com and CVS.com, as well as
health information and commerce sites like Drkoop.com and Healtheon/WebMD, PlanetRx needs
to rebound in a hurry and start recouping its development costs.
Innovation or Gimmick?
While acknowledging the long-term potential of the new technology, one observer raises
questions about how successful it will be in the near term.
Sylvia Gimenez, an industry analyst with eMarketer, told the E-Commerce Times that, "It looks
convenient, but I'm not sure how widely adopted it will be, especially since it only works with
one Web site."
Gimenez continued, "Basically, it looks like it is ahead of its time. Eventually, I can see
everyone having this kind of capability as an add-on to wireless handheld devices."
Malls on Same Pathway
In January, the E-Commerce Times reported on another innovative plan by Simon Property
Group, one of the largest shopping mall operators in the U.S., to develop advanced
Internet-based products for retailers through clixnmortar.com.
That plan calls for shoppers to be issued a Palm III personal organizer equipped to scan codes
on products they see while browsing at a mall.
The scanned products are then listed on the shopper's personal Web site -- created as part of
the service -- and the shopper can opt to pick up the items at the mall or have them delivered.
Selections can also be held at the Web site until the customer decides whether to buy them at
a later date.
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Hopefully TRKR will be integrating this service into their new website.
Tom B. |
