The original pitch for the RFIDs was that they'd just be able to scan your whole cart. I'm not sure what happened in the interim.

RFID didn't work reliably from more than a few inches away and with that many items? Tagging every item including bulk things like produce was a non-starter for merchants due to all the extra labor involved? RFID tags cost much more than the barcode already on product packaging? Check out hardware for this was massively expensive, didn't integrate with existing lane systems smoothly, confused consumers, was largely unavailable due to lack of demand, and was super buggy / unreliable?

Those are all guesses but they all seem likely to me.

> from more than a few inches away

Nah, you can always crank up the power in line with the inverse square law. Your other reasons are plausible. RFID tags are fairly cheap, but they can't compete with printing a barcode on a label.

> The original pitch for the RFIDs was that they'd just be able to scan your whole cart. I'm sure the limiting factor at the moment is the incremental cost to the product. If an RFID tag costs 25¢ would you be willing to spend $1 instead of 50¢ for a can of corn, just for the privilege of not interacting with anyone? You might, but the average customer won't.

RFID is primarily used in application where the tag can be reused. I haven't seen many disposable RFID tags.

I'm sure a few of the engineers knew that would never happen. But it's someone else's job to sell the tech to businesses, and the stock to wallstreet ...

I've done (almost) this at an Apple Store with their store app. It was surreal. ;-)

As incredibly convenient as that is, I always feel like I'm stealing stuff from the Apple store.

You walk in, pick something up, fiddle with your phone, and walk out.

The fact that the Apple people know that I bought something and smile or are nice to me on the way out just makes me feel more like they're watching me thinking I stole something.

I feel the same way. It is very bizarre! Reminds me of that scene from Holy Grail when the guards are just smiling and nodding when the prince is trying to escape from the castle.

But how do they know? Someone must know. Is it broadcast to their headsets?

I don't know, but I figure they must know because otherwise they'd think you're shoplifting too.

There is one neighborhood convenience store that approximates that experience but in a low tech way.

http://gizmodo.com/theres-smartphone-powered-store-in-sweden...