Supermarket self-service will change behaviors, analyst says

PC Pro: Technology analyst Jon Honeyball is excited about the impending wave of supermarket self-service, which will usher in an era of hand-held price scanners and cart-at-a-time checkout gateways. These new devices will bring with them new kinds of social engineering and "per-person, per-shop pricing and decision manipulation."

"Now, with my Captain Kirk laser zapper, the device goes bloopety bloop when I scan in something that has a ‘two for one' or some other offer," he writes. "And you know, I'm tempted to just pop in that extra item, because it's a saving, isn't it? Naturally, I'm being socially engineered. … It wants me to buy more of that tooth-rotting fizzy drink, so offers me a bargain."

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