News

Survey finds mixed acceptance of self-checkout

November 11, 2003

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - A new survey reveals that not all shoppers are wild about self-service checkout.

Of the 61 percent of U.S. households that have used self-checkout lanes, ACNielsen U.S. reported that 32 percent of them said that "they are great." More shoppers who have tried the do-it-yourself checkout lanes (52 percent) said "they are OK," and 16 percent called them "frustrating."

The research comes from a new ACNielsen Homescan consumer panel survey of 61,500 nationally representative U.S. households.

"Self-checkout is still a relatively new phenomenon, so it's good news for retailers that so many households have tried the new lanes," said Todd Hale, senior vice president, ACNielsen Consumer Insights. "However, retailers who want to grow consumer acceptance, satisfaction and continued use of the do-it-yourself checkout lanes need to offer shoppers more help in getting comfortable with the process."

Usage of self-checkout lanes is greatest among larger, high-income, younger and more educated households. Seventy percent of those who have tried self-checkout lanes plan to use them again. Just 25 percent of those who have never tried the lanes plan to do so in the future.

"For many shoppers, self-checkout is intimidating. Retailers must be proactive in demonstrating the units and pointing out the time savings for shoppers," said Phil Lempert, NBC "Today Show" food-trends editor and a consultant to ACNielsen. "Unfortunately, if one does experience a problem -- not having a price ring up correctly, for example, or having to wait for a customer-service person to correct a malfunction -- odds are they will never return to the self-checkout lane again. Consumers have zero tolerance for new technologies that don't meet their needs."