Is the Internet making grocery shopping obsolete?
Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article on the Ikan, a new kitchen gadget that uses the internet to create grocery lists and facilitate delivery. The contraption, which comes in neutral white and retails for $400, can be mounted on a wall or countertop.
Once you’ve emptied a food container, run the barcode under the Ikan’s laser scanner. After searching its online database, the Ikan will display, then store the product information. (For needed items that don’t have bar codes, like vegetables and fruits, a Voice Reminder button translates spoken commands to text.) The device will alert you, if a scanned item can be recycled in your neighborhood.
When you need to restock, visit Ikan.net, check over your order list, then press a button to have it delivered. For those in Manhattan and the surrounding suburbs, the Ikan system is integrated with D’Agostino grocery stores. For those outside this area, there’s Peapod, a service that goes through Stop n’ Shop and Giant chains. Should you scan or command an item that is not stocked in the store, a representative will call to advise on a substitution.
Ikan fans praise it as a time-saver. They also note that mass delivery is a greener way to get your groceries. But others feel it’s yet another excuse to avoid interaction in our plugged-in world. What do you think?
Written by Audrey Tempelsman, Associate Editor, Dwell.com
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