The Big Change That's Coming To Wegmans

Wegmans is a grocery chain on the east coast of the United States beloved by many shoppers. Business Insider described Wegmans as the nation's best grocery chain in 2019, citing research into customer satisfaction. A 2022 Newsweek survey of shoppers again identified Wegmans as No. 1 in the supermarket category. A 2013 BuzzFeed article took a crack at explaining why Wegmans is so cherished, highlighting the selection of numerous goods plus prices and the level of service. A 2014 Business Insider piece echoed many of those sentiments, also praising the chain's ready-to-eat offerings. PopSugar sang the praises of Wegmans in 2015, characterizing the store's "sincere and helpful" employees as an element that makes visits enjoyable.

For as many high marks as Wegmans has earned over the years for its service, there has been a huge change that shoppers might be less inclined to rave about. An announcement from Wegmans could change the way many consumers make their Wegmans purchases going forward and may even temper shoppers' affections.

The New York Post reports Wegmans disabled the SCAN app as of Sunday, September 18. It is no longer allowing customers to scan and bag their own groceries. The reason behind the discontinuation is loss, as an email from the company to app users explains that there has simply been too much theft for Wegmans to continue offering the service.

WHAM 13 reported in April 2019 that Wegmans planned on offering SCAN to give customers a new way to make their purchases. After scanning and bagging, people would complete their transactions using the self-checkout registers. In its statement announcing the end of SCAN, the company noted that the service allowed people to make contactless transactions when it launched during the pandemic. Users were informed they would be receiving a $20 credit from Wegmans to somewhat soften the blow of SCAN.

It's unclear if that will be enough to satiate fans of the app, though. A Twitter user said, "yo, Wegmans, doing away with the scan app is thoroughly disappointing. It enables the streamlining [of] the shopping experience, especially in NJ where we need to bring our bags. If you are experience [sic] losses, take a look at the Costco model of receipt checks; don't punish legit users." For the time being, Wegmans' checkout lines will revert to their pre-SCAN forms.