Here is why I ask. I recently saw this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b79pwb6Wlsc]

As we can see, technology advancements are being made in the restaurant industry. Whether they’re better or worse for the customer is a debate for another time. But as I strolled the aisles of Key Food looking for the items on my shopping list, I became extremely frustrated with the poor technology advancements of the supermarket industry. Where can I find the Canola Oil? The sugar and spice section? The baking section? There are certain standard rules that supermarkets have invented and stuck by. Like the fact that bread is usually against one of the walls (usually the left). The milk is going to be somewhere in the back with the cold dairy items. Once these staple items are placed, each supermarket makes up their own categorization for sections which makes it very hard for unfamiliar shoppers.

So we have robots starting to serve us in restaurants but supermarkets are still in such disarray? I’m not proposing that robots should get my groceries, even though that would be nice. Here’s is what I want. I want to be able to go online and put in my shopping list. Then, the website can let me know what aisle every item is in. That’s it! Sounds simple. The supermarkets already have their set sections. Is it so hard to put them online for all to use?

It is simple, but here is why I think supermarkets haven’t implemented this simple convenience. It’s because their core market is the retired crowd who shop in the middle of the day. These people don’t need this convenience. So why put the extra money into a new website feature? I’ll tell you why. The first supermarket to implement this simple feature will get all us, non-retired people who use the web daily,  as repeat customers. We’re not baby-boomers, but we’ve got money (well, I’m a student, so not a lot yet). And we can make a difference in some chain’s bottom line if they give us a reason to.