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J.C. Penney Line-Moving Experiment Proves Wirelessly Tricky

Written by Evan Schuman
September 20th, 2009
J.C. Penney is experimenting with some customer checkout herding technology in its Manhattan store. Although the retailer has succeeded in persuading customers that the lines are moving faster—whether or not they actually are moving faster is unclear—it has failed in its intended wireless launch of the system.

The difference between wireless in a test lab and wireless in the field has again reared its ugly 802.11 head. The J.C. Penney trial began in December 2008 at the $18.5 billion 1,101-store chain's 103,000-square foot Ft. Worth, Texas, store. The goal was to test the system for a deployment at the chain's first Manhattan store (a much larger 153,000-square foot store), which opened this summer.

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Posted in In-Store, IT Strategy/Industry, Mobile/Wireless/Contactless, Payment Systems, Premium Content, Security/Fraud, Software
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