NCR Makes Mobile Shopping Easy

NCR Corp. (NCR - Analyst Report) is making shopping easy for the customers of Woodman’s Food Markets, a Wisconsin-based grocery chain. Under an agreement signed a few months back, NCR agreed to provide its Mobile Shopper solution to Woodman’s stores at various locations. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Woodman’s is currently using the mobile technology at its Gammon Road location and is planning to install the same in 13 stores across Wisconsin and Illinois soon. Customers using Apple Inc.’s (AAPL - Analyst Report) iPhones can download the app from the App Store using a personalized code.

With this mobile technology, customers will be able to make a virtual list of consumables before reaching the store, shop according to the list, scan the products (using the bar code embedded in the products), know the exact weight and total amount, cross check the list and pay off the bill at the counter quickly. This mobile solution can really benefit shoppers by saving a whole lot of time otherwise wasted in long queues at the check-out counters.

With the Mobile Shopper, the grocery chain will be able to boost shopping experience and gain market share, going forward. No doubt that this type of mobile shopping applications will have increasing demand from retailers to attract buyers. We believe that its innovative technologies targeted toward retailers and years of experience in serving the retail sector will allow NCR to be ahead of its peers.

However, similar offerings from the likes of Wincor Nixdorf and IBM Corp. (IBM - Analyst Report) could create some pressure on NCR’s market share.

Currently, NCR has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).