Yet another way in which ICT is used in supermarkets is for loyalty cards. An example of a loyalty card is the tesco club card. This enables the person to receive points when they purchase things and every month they receive tokens, which they can spend on other things like nappies and petrol etc. A loyalty card is a card, which has your personal details on it. It is swiped through the till and points are put onto your card.
This affects my family because some of my family members are holders of loyalty cards at Tesco and when they receives tokens, they use them for the products that they want to buy, e.g. petrol. This saves them a small amount of money, which can later add up.
This affects the community as well because it means that more and more people will go shopping at supermarkets and buy more products so that they can receive more points, which will get them more tokens so that they can receive discounts on certain products.
- EFTPOS (Electronic funds transfer point of sales)
ICT is also used in supermarkets for EFTPOS. This is when money is automatically transferred from the credit card holder’s account to the supermarket account. This has an impact on the society because it enables people to pay with credit or debit cards.
This has an affect on my family because it means that when my dad goes shopping, he does not have to carry cash around with him but he can simply shop with his credit card. This makes it a lot easier to shop, as you don’t have to wait for change etc. This improves the service rate, as more people will be served quickly.
This has an affect on community because if people prefer to carry credit cards rather than cash, they will shop at supermarkets because they can use their credit cards there as well as at corner shops but shopping at supermarkets has more advantages. E.g. more efficient service.
Cash back is when the supermarket gives you money back, which is also taken from your account.
This affects my family because when my brother shops with his credit card and he doesn’t have any cash, he can simply receive cash back.
This also has an affect on the community because it will save people time if they can simply get money from their account from their supermarket rather than having to go to the bank. This will improve the number of customers because more and more people will shop there.
QUESTION 2
The advantages and disadvantages of having ICT in supermarkets.
There are many advantages and disadvantages of having ICT in supermarkets.
Advantages of using online shopping are that:
- It is easy because you can shop from home.
- It is quick.
Disadvantages of using online shopping are that:
- You do not always get the goods that you want
- The goods take a longer time to receive
- You do not get enough exercise.
- Big vans are used for deliveries, which may increase pollution.
- Deliveries can cost money.
Advantages of EPOS:
- Efficient
- Stock is always available
- Don’t hold too much stock.
Disadvantages of EPOS:
- The equipment is expensive
- If wires are broken, all information can be lost.
- System can go down
Advantages of Loyalty Cards:
- They will increase the number of customers.
- You can receive tokens.
- You will get discounts on other products.
Disadvantages of Loyalty cards:
- The supermarket benefits more than the customer.
- There are too many available. Everyone does it
- The supermarket can target your information and send you vouchers for certain products even though those products may be cheaper elsewhere.
Advantages of EFTPOS:
- You can pay with a credit card
- You can pay with a debit card
- You do not have to carry cash around
- Money is automatically transferred from your account.
- You can withdraw money from your account from your supermarket using cash back.
Disadvantages of EFTPOS:
- Mistakes can be made
- Fraud (stolen credit cards)
- Funds can be delayed.
How have supermarkets improved since ICT was introduced?
Since ICT was introduced in supermarkets everything has become better. For example, stock is always at the right level and people can buy goods faster because all products are bar-coded. Also, they have more customers and sell more goods. They also can automatically set up special offers and send leaflets to owners of loyalty cards etc.
Question 3
The effects of ICT on working practices:
ICT has changed the type of work that people do on the shop floor. They are still required to stack shelves but they do not have to price up items because of barcodes. At the POS items are scanned in, prices are not typed in.
Stock is automatically re-ordered once it gets to a certain level – this saves time
If self-servicing tills do take off, this will probably mean that less people will be required to work in the supermarket. With more people using the internet, more people will have to work on “internet farms” where they have to pick products for online shoppers.
ICT makes the whole supermarket process – from ordering stock to serving the customer, much quicker and efficient. Savings created by this can be passed onto the customer. This means that customers are less likely to order their milk from the milkman or to get groceries from the corner shop – all of these businesses are therefore becoming a thing of the past.
The effects of ICT on the environment:
Using Ict has an effect on the environment as well. This is because more and more people buy things online; therefore when it is delivered in big lorries, more pollution is caused.
Also, the environment is damaged when computers are thrown away. This is because computers are hard to dispose of.
The environment is damaged because a lot pf paper is wasted. This is by printing receipts and producing free carrier bags. People do not bother to recycle these things therefore trees and the environment are damaged.
Also, a lot of electricity is used by lights, which are usually on twenty-four hours a day. Also, having a lot of computers uses up a lot of electricity. This also has an impact on the environment.
Production:
Another way in which ICT impacts the production is because of JIT. This is Just In Time. It means that the supermarket orders stock just when it is needed and basically on time. This is so that certain stock does not go over the limit. E.g. if it is not selling much, then they will not need to order any more. Production needs to be faster and more efficient because of EPOS.
The availability of information:
Since ICT was introduced in supermarkets, information has become a lot more available. This is because if you go to a supermarket website, e.g. Tesco, you can find out the prices of products from other supermarkets and then decide which one is cheapest. Loyalty cards also make information more available but they make it available for the supermarket. This is because the supermarkets can find out all your details and what products you buy etc.
Question 4:
The ways in which data legislation takes place in supermarkets is:
Data protection Act 1998
Health and Safety at work 1974
Health and safety regulation Act 1992
Data protection act 1998:
The data protection act is an act set out by the government that states that people’s personal data cannot be given out without their consent. Data cannot be given to a third party person. Personal data, which I processed on the computer, has to be notified with a commissioner and goes on a register. People have rights about their data. These rights must be protected and respected in accordance with the data protection act. Staff must be trained to follow policies set by the data protection act. There is a total of 8 policies. All data has to be treated lawfully and fairly. Data can only be held in the original context and for the original purpose.
If somebody breaks the rules of the data protection act, they can be taken to court.
In supermarkets, the data protection act is used because when people apply for a loyalty card, they have to fill in their details and they would want their personal details kept safe private and confidential so that others cannot misuse them.
Future Uses of ICT in supermarkets:
In future Ict may be used in supermakets for self scanning. This will mean that people will no longer need to be employed to work on the checkouts.
Another use for ict in supermarkets in the future may be that more and more pople will do online shopping as more and more supermarkts are having their own websites for online shopping.
Ict may also be used for extra surveillance (CCTV) cameras etc.
Bibliography
I got most of my information from:
▪Books
▪Applications of ICT
This book was very helpful to me because it tells you all about how ICT is used in supermarkets. I used this information in my presentation and my report. It helped me with things like EPOS etc.
▪Teachers
My ICT subject teacher gave me al the information I needed to know to do this work. Although she didn’t tell me exactly what to write, she gave me guidance when I was struggling.
I used this information in both pieces of work.
▪Internet
▪www.tesco.com
▪I used the information off here for my slides about how ICT is used in supermarkets and for information about prices etc. This website did not help me with things like EPOS so I used a book for that instead.
▪www.asda.com
▪I used the information off this for my slides about how Ict is used in asda.
▪www.google.com(search)
▪I searched for ways in which ICT is used in supermarkets. I also used it for images, which I used in my presentation.
▪www.yahoo.co.uk(search)
▪I used this website for information throughout my work.
These WebPages were very useful to me whilst I was doing my presentation because I got my information and pictures from these search engines. The information I gathered from these search engines was used in almost all areas of my work.
▪www.bbc.co.uk/revision
I used this site for information on ways in which ICT is used in supermarkets. I used the information off this Web Page for my future uses of ICT.
