Grocery Self-Checkout Bites Grocers Back

As grocery stores cut costs and remove staff, they implement more and more self-checkout lines. I love this – even though the enroachment of self-service everything is gradually increasing. But now the grocers find that self-checkout users are not impulse buying – and they are losing money.

The impulse displays have not caught up to this new technology. By definition these are impulse items thus they must engage the senses. Retailers such as Meijer and Kroger have adjusted by offering items such as rotisserie chickens and fresh baked breads to rely more on the sense of smell to drive sales rather than simply visuals when trapped in a staffed lane.

(via Slashdot)


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

3 responses to “Grocery Self-Checkout Bites Grocers Back”

  1. Robin Avatar

    I love the self-checkout, having a cashier makes me uncomfortable.

  2. jay Avatar

    So far at our local store, every self-service attempt has resulted in at least one problem–either the robot voice announcing “place item in bag” or something not scanning, etc. The system has a ways to go…

  3. Jim Avatar

    Our local Sainsbury’s has a reasonably good self-checkout.
    Put it this way I can scan, and bag quicker than most cashiers now!
    The downside is that the scales, where you place your bags, are too small for anything other than a basket or minimally loaded trolley.
    Tesco’s by contrast allows you a large amount of shopping using a “normal” conveyor system but is so complex it requires someone darting from one self-serve to the other creating enormous queues.
    Especially at night when Tesco only seem to have one till operator on and she’s running around the self-serves like a demented mad woman.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *