Commissary officials have begun rolling out Wi-Fi to stateside stores, including those in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

For the many patrons who carry smartphones and tablets while shopping, "store Wi-Fi will help them maximize their commissary benefit," said Duane Woodfin, an information technology specialist and wireless expert for the Defense Commissary Agency.

Woodfin noted www.commissaries.com has a lot of valuable information, such as digital coupons for the Commissary Rewards Card, sales fliers, the "savings aisle" for access to promotional prices and more.

Customers also use their mobile devices to compare competitors' prices with commissary prices.

By mid-May, Wi-Fi is expected to be in place in the 105 stores with existing network infrastructure, with most of those going operational in April.

Stores lacking the existing network infrastructure will undergo a technical upgrade. Commissary officials will announce the schedule for those stores once it's finalized.

DeCA has not yet decided whether to expand the Wi-Fi to its overseas stores.

A few Wi-Fi facts from DeCA:

*Anyone can access the store's Wi-Fi from the sales floor area.

*Users must accept the Defense Commissary Agency's "terms of service" agreement.

*Some websites are blocked.

*Customers with questions about access should contact the store's customer service representative.

'Special Sizes' catalog

A new 20-page "Special Sizes" catalog featuring clothing in a variety of styles for maternity, big and tall, petite and plus sizes is available for exchange shoppers.

Women will find Columbia, Ellen Tracy, Calvin Klein and other brands, while men will find Polo, Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Van Heusen and other brands.

This is the first time the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has offered a catalog highlighting selections for these sizes, although the sizes have long been available in many stores and online.

Some brand-name shoes, handbags and accessories are also featured.

Prices are good through April 30. Any authorized exchange shopper, regardless of service branch, can buy from the catalog.

Find it online at shopmyexchange.com, under the "Interactive Product Catalogs" link on the menu at the bottom of the page. Catalogs also are available in main stores. You can place orders online or by mail, fax or phone.

Grocery technology and you

The Defense Commissary Agency plans to spend up to $256 million over 10 years on a new contract to modernize its technology. The first year, they'll spend more than $20 million.

What does this mean to store patrons? The program affects everything from the supply chain that gets products to shelves to customer interaction at the cash register, including pushing out information about coupons and other promotions, said Stan Ratcliffe, president of NCR Government Systems LLC, which received the contract.

The company's technology is used at most of the largest retailers and grocers in the world, Ratcliffe said, including Wal-Mart.

The upgrade will improve the warehousing ordering system, which helps avoid empty shelves, as well as the Commissary Rewards card program, making it more functional and user-friendly.

Overall, the NCR technology will enable DeCA to bring more features to more quickly help customers, Ratcliffe said.

Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.

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