Article

Research: Shoppers drawn to self-checkout

There are so many instances of technology searching for users. But in the case of self-checkout, the market is growing because consumers really want it, according to new research from IDC.

July 8, 2003

New research concludes that consumers really want self-checkout systems at retail stores, and that demand has created one of the fastest-growing segments in self-service.

Almost 70 percent of consumers in five different countries claim they are likely to use the technology for scanning, bagging and payi ng for their own items, the research from IDC found. In the United States, consumers polled are just as likely to use self-checkout as they are to use pay-at-the-pump technology.

IDC's report, "Self-Checkout Systems: Defining Retailers as Leaders of the Pack," incorporates interviews with 5,000 consumers across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Australia. IDC interviewed 14 retailers in the same countries. The retailers were in various stages of implementing self-checkout.

According to the research, even those shoppers who have never used self-service at the store said the option would make a difference in deciding where they shop. This means there is potential for retailers to attract new customers, said Christopher Boone, IDC senior analyst for retail/wholesale vertical industry research. He said price and location have long been the lone comparison points in the brutally competitive retail segment.

More than 40 percent of U.S. consumers said they would be more likely to head to a store that offered self-checkout. They said the technology would be appreciated in supermarkets, hypermarkets and department stores.

Technology for all

The penetration rate of self-checkout is higher in the United States, but it represents a small percentage of the market potential, according to Mike Webster, vice president and general manager of NCR Corp.'s FastLane. NCR has installed FastLane self-serve checkout in eight countries around the world. See related stories, "U.K retailer adds more units, tests virtual checkout," "Italian hypermarket chain intros self-checkout," "Metro Group first retailer in Germany with self-checkout," "Self-serve shopping option intro'd by NCR, Symbol." NCR commissioned the IDC research.

"As a leader in developing and deploying self-service solutions worldwide, our interest was to get closer to retailers and their customers," Webster said. "By gaining a better understanding of their needs and continually assessing how self-service technology is impacting retailer operations, we can continue to innovate in this area."

Webster said NCR will not change its business strategies based on the research, but that NCR expects continued expansion into new segments and markets, given self-checkout has been so well-received.

He said, "This study is an extension of our focus groups and retailer user communities. There were several new ideas we learned about in terms of the rate of implementation and store-selection techniques."

Self-checkout on NCR Corp.'s FastLane

Retailer reasons

Retailers in Europe and the United States like the competitive edge that self-checkout affords, but most said better customer service is the key driver behind the technology's momentum.

Self-checkout offers retailers operational efficiency, according to Boone. Instead of having to pull employees from other departments to man registers at peak hours, for instance, the self-checkout lanes can take some of the burden. Staff can be used for other tasks necessary to running a store, he said.

Retailers said there is no core demographic with the self-checkout as was previously believed. Webster said shoppers of all ages are using the technology regularly. He said he expected that younger shoppers would find self-checkout most valuable.

More than a third of retailers said they were surprised to find that self-checkout systems lowered inventory shrinkage, Boone said.