Historically, grocery stores have priced all items, from canned goods to fruit, by unit. An orange was priced as an orange, regardless of the size, unless the grocer wanted to take the time to price them individually. A bag of walnuts taken from a bin was charged by the scoop, and could vary from scoop to scoop depending on who was filling the bag. Needless to say, this was a very primitive method of pricing, and could lead to either the customer or the grocer being short-changed. Enter the retail scale, and grocery itemizing has never been the same.

The retail scale can be several places in a standard grocery store. At the butcher, meat is purchased by the pound. You can ask for a pound of hamburger, a half pound of shrimp, or four pounds of chicken breasts. The retail scale at the counter allows the butcher to provide you with the exact correct amount of meat. He can then wrap it tightly and place a price tag, allowing you to pay for the meat at the checkout stand. Without the retail scale, the meat would have to be cut into portions that looked even. Inevitably some would be larger than others, but all would have to cost the same. This would make it more difficult to shop for meat, as you would always be picking through the pieces looking for the biggest one, always wondering if somebody got more than you for the same price.

The retail scale is also used at the deli counter. Lunchmeat, salads, and cooked food such as chicken wings are on display for the customer to choose at will. The customer can order a pound of potato salad, half a pound of cheese, and two pounds of roast beef, ensuring that he will get exactly that much. Without the scale, it would be very difficult to properly measure portions. They would likely have to be pre-measured, which would make the deli counter unnecessary. People would have a very hard time getting fresh deli goods.

The checkout counter at the grocery store has the most advanced retail scale. Fruits, vegetables, and other produce is weighed and priced right at the cash register. As the teller is checking the customer out, the items that are priced by weight are set on the scale and the price is instantaneously added to the total bill. This is very convenient, saving the teller time in checking the groceries out, and saving the customer time at the store.

The retail scale has revolutionized the grocery industry. The ability to purchase goods by weight allows stores to accurately measure exactly what is being sold and allows customers to get exactly what they want when going to the store. The scales keep pricing fair and simple, ensuring that somebody will not fall prey to a store clerk with a stingy scoop or a batch of fruit with vast differences between the size of the individual pieces.

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