Shopping with digital help

The touch-screen device from Springboard Retail Networks includes a Global Positioning System that alerts shoppers to nearby discounts.

A Bloom store in South Carolina
launched a new cart-mounted technology system known as PAT (personal
assistant technology) that allows shoppers to locate products, view a
digital sales flier, look up recipes and access online shopping
lists.

The touch-screen device is being
supplied through a previously disclosed partnership with Springboard
Retail Networks, Toronto. The device includes a global positioning
system (GPS) that alerts shoppers to price specials in their vicinity
as they travel the store, and also has a built-in barcode scanner.

Officials for Bloom, a division of
Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion, said they intent to roll the product
out to other locations over time.