News

Walmart tests iPhone self-checkout app

September 4, 2012

Walmart shoppers may have another self-checkout option if the retailer's latest pilot program proves successful.

According to a Reuters report, Walmart tested an app at its Rogers, Ark., location that would enable customers to scan items using their iPhones and then place them in bags while they shop. The system then transfers the scanned items to the self-checkout kiosk, where shoppers complete the transaction with traditional payment methods.

Walmart plans to expand on its self-checkout options as a means to save money and lower prices. The company's CFO said in March that self-checkout could save the retailer millions of dollars, estimating that it could save $12 million for every second cut from the checkout process in the U.S., according to the report.

Walmart did not give details as to where the iPhone test might lead, but it could allow for scanning through other smartphones as well as a mobile payment option.

Read more about self-checkout.