Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Shop 'N' Shoot

Enliven shopping with 'laser-quest'-type environment.
 
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Your weekly shop becomes an exciting no-holds barred rush around darkened alleys grabbing items off the shelves while trying to avoid being taken out by other shoppers and eliminating the competition! Points awarded when you reach the check-out allow discounts on specified non-luxury items (if you get hit too many times, you forfeit your goods). This might be elaborated to cover other role-playing type games within the supermarket-shopping context.
namedropper, Apr 14 2002

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       Dale Winton involved in this at all?
po, Apr 14 2002
  

       This sounds alot like shopping the week before Christmas.
bluerowan, Apr 14 2002
  

       >>Dale Winton involved in this at all?<< !namedropper! - there could be an aisle called 'Mr Dale's Dairy', I suppose....(although it's slightly cheesy)
namedropper, Apr 14 2002
  

       I'm not too keen on the idea as written, but tossing laser tag into the shopping experience would get more guys to go shopping.
phoenix, Apr 14 2002
  

       True, [phoenix]; but it wouldn't be shopping as it is now; it'd sort of be redefined to something else, which you may or may not enjoy.   

       <stereotype> In fact, it might turn a lot of women *off* to shopping if it became pervasive. </stereotype>
jester, Apr 15 2002
  

       Maybe you can only put loss-leaders in your basket if you are currently "alive". As you walk towards the cut-price bread you could shoot out the opposition and cruise into place and collect the budget savers.
Aristotle, Apr 16 2002
  

       only wanted a tin of baked beans - arrgghhh - ouch
po, Apr 16 2002
  

       Good luck getting me out of my Velveeta bunker...
spartanica, Apr 16 2002
  

       Let's flesh this out. Maybe we give customers barcode scanners instead of laser tag guns. Customers gain points by 'shooting' specially placed or marked merchandise. Get a certain number of points and receive a discount at the checkout. The stores might buy into it because it helps make sure people are canvassing the store, which improves their eyeball count. Maybe dual purpose the scanners so items can be price-checked before being placed in the basket.
phoenix, Apr 16 2002
  

       Stores might not go for that, since it might cramp impulse buying. It would be nice for the consumer, though: No more carts blocking aisles, a running total of the bill displayed on the scanner itself. I wonder if the money saved by preventing theft would offset the cost of whatever replaces the shopping carts.
phoenix, Apr 17 2002
  

       You can eliminate shop clerk and stock boy, if you allow the shopper to only scan the sample package. Automatic robots will pick up the item in the warehouse and transfer it to a shopping cart. The fully packaged shopping car will be waiting for pick up at the exit. Probably work well for electronics and hardware, not so sure it will work with food and clothes.
bing, Apr 17 2002
  

       DEEF; Alvin Toffler mentioned this idea in one of his books,(probably THE THIRD WAVE), but without the game, of course. The idea being to reduce shelf space. The store only provides 1 item of each product, you scan, when your'e done hit the FINISHED button, and baggers in the back bring out the goods...
MORGWOOD, Apr 17 2002
  

       Hmmm... make shopping a game. Well, the real issue is that if you want to allow people to actually buy things, there shouldn't be a chance that you can't buy things, at least in most situations. So the question becomes, is there a situation where you would be shopping and not necessarily get what you want? Of course there is - auctions!   

       Normally, an auction is all about how much money you have. There is a limit to the number of a certain item, and you compete by how much you spend to get the item.   

       Well, turn that around. The item now has a fixed quantity *and* a fixed price. It is something very desirable. So, people are willing to compete for it. To offset the cost of having competitions or to compensate for not getting the highest possible value for something, video tape the competition and make a TV show out of it! It's Sotheby's meets Sale Of the Century (or something)!
simpleknight, Apr 17 2002
  

       If you got the highest amount of points in a round, you could get food coupons for discounts on certain items you bought.
ishotpac, Apr 17 2002
  
      
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