January 30, 2006
Line 56: For Home Depot and other retailers, scheduling and optimizing retail worker time is just one piece of the puzzle. Retailers also consider ways to make shoppers themselves more efficient - for example, by providing self-checkout (now a staple in several high-volume retail environments) and in-store kiosks. Home Depot now has 1,200 stores equipped with self-checkout, plans for 15,000 kiosks, and is "increasing its investment in contact centers to help consumers with the research component of their buying."