Article
A smorgasbord of self-checkout
Kiosks in groceries and supermarkets add value in retail.
June 23, 2008
Patrick Avery is the former editor of Self-Service World and Kiosk Marketplace. To submit a comment about this article, please e-mail Tracy Kitten, a senior editor of Self-Service World parent, NetWorld Alliance.
Self-checkout is not just an option, it's a necessity.
That's the way Dennis Uhrich, a certified sales specialist for IBM Corp.'s Retail Store Solutions, sees it. Uhrich works with 17 grocery chains from Portland and Maine to the Carolinas, where retailers have deployed hundreds of self-checkout lanes.
"We are seeing a new generation of grocers that are finding self-service is part of the price of doing business," Uhrich said. "Customers are demanding that this technology be a part of their store experience."
Self-checkout helps shoppers get through check-out lines quickly. And with more grocers extending their hours of operation, some even to 24 hours, the adoption of self-service has helped keep the flow of customers moving, when few "manned" checkout lanes are open.
"These lanes allow retailers to provide more service opportunities," Uhrich said.
It's also about choice.
Consumers today are demanding self-service.
"Demographics don't matter either," Uhrich said. "All age groups, including the older demographics, like to use it."
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Many consumers say they like to control their user experience — a facet that only self-service can truly provide.
Privacy also is important.
"People like that they don't have to share their purchase with a bagger or cashier," Uhrich said.
A new labor force?
Despite popular criticisms, in the retail environment and beyond, advances in self-service offerings and technology do not aim to replace the clerk or cashier. More options merely means more opportunities for enhancing customer service, Uhrich said.
But understanding the right kind of self-service implementation is the key, and it includes training employees to understand it and appreciate it.
Employees who are knowledgeable and supportive of self-checkout can make a big difference, Uhrich said. Grocers should assign strong individuals or shopper assistants to keep watchful eyes on self-checkout lanes and to encourage customers to use it.
"Chains that are doing those things are the most successful and are seeing more than 30 percent of their sales going through those self-service lines," he said.
It also is important to go into a deployment with the right attitude.
"If you build it, they will come," Uhrich said. "Do research and plan the deployment effectively. Train the appropriate people and tell them you can drive sales through the self-service lanes."
Employers that treat this position as a promotion or one of increased responsibility often get better results.
"Some stores have built such a bond with consumers that demand has gone past the traditional three or four self-checkout lanes to the point where almost 40 percent of some stores are self-service," Uhrich said.
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