Karns Foods: An NCR Case Study

The customer

In 1959, David Karns opened the first Karns Food store (www.karnsfoods.com), welcoming customers as individuals with individual needs. More than 50 years later, Karns Foods is still family owned and operated, with seven locations serving the Central Pennsylvania area.

Karns sets itself apart by offering full service meat and bakery departments, locally-grown fresh produce, special discounts for seniors, double coupons and a rewards program. In addition, Karns has always been active in supporting the local community with school programs, fundraising and donations, and direct involvement in many charitable activities.

Karns’ strong connection to the local community combined with decades of dedication to providing outstanding service and products at its stores has made it a staple to the Central Pennsylvania area and the cities it serves.

The challenge

Karns set out to tackle several challenges when considering a comprehensive technology update for its stores. Its point-ofsale (POS) terminals and software were aging, and needed an update as hardware failures began to take their toll on store operations. Karns also needed to address new standards set for Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance. And, with the GS1 DataBar™ sunrise looming, the grocer needed to update its scanners to handle the new bar codes.

Karns also wanted to take advantage of the refresh to improve customer service and satisfaction at its stores by offering customers the option to scan, bag and pay for purchases on their own using self-checkout. Finally, Karns wanted to expand on its current rewards and coupon/discount programs to best meet their customers’ needs.