Product Code Database
Self-checkouts ( SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts ( ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that allow customers to complete their own transaction with a retailer without using a staffed checkout. When using SCOs, customers scan item before paying for their purchases without needing one-to-one staff assistance. Self-checkouts are used mainly in , although they are sometimes also found in Department store or convenience stores. Most self-checkout areas are supervised by at least one staff member, often assisting customers to process transactions, correcting prices, or otherwise providing service.
As of 2013, there were 191,000 self-checkout units deployed around the globe, and by 2025, it is predicted that 1.2 million units will be installed worldwide. It has been estimated that "the self-checkout system market in the U.S., which accounts for 41% of the global market, reached $1.4 billion in 2021."
The machines were originally invented by David R. Humble at Deerfield Beach, Florida-based company CheckRobot Inc., with NCR Corporation having the largest market share. They were introduced to the public in July 1986; the first machine, produced by CheckRobot, was installed in a Kroger store near Atlanta, Georgia.
There is normally at least one supervising staff member who will assist customers when required, authorise the sale of age-restricted products such as medicines, alcohol, knives and tobacco, remove or de-sensitize electronic article surveillance devices, and provide additional loss prevention and customer service. In 2024, German supermarket chain Lidl started trials using a check weigher at some self-checkout terminals.
The Walmart-owned warehouse club, Sam's Club, allows customers to download an app and scan items into their cart using a mobile application. In summer 2018, Walmart China launched its WeChat-based "Scan and Go" program, allowing customers to scan items into their carts without downloading another mobile app, while paying through Wechat Payment or Alipay. The "Scan and Go" program carried 30% of all payments made in Chinese stores, and even improved sales in certain markets by 10%.
In December 2016, Amazon announced a brick-and-mortar store in Seattle under the name Amazon Go, which uses a variety of cameras and sensors in order to see what customers are putting into their shopping bags. The customers scan a QR code when they enter the store through a companion app, which is linked to their Amazon.com account. When the customer exits the store, the items in their bag are automatically charged to the account.
A Java-based open source self-check client for libraries, which has been used at the University of Oxford, Oxford Developments at GAUG 2002 Archived from the original on 24 November 2012 is also available under a GPL v3 license.
As of April 2022, camera-based self-checkout machines are in use at some in the United States. Systems manufactured by Caper Counters (acquired by Instacart) allow customers to put items in a designated area but not align them to expose the barcode.
Costco began to institute self-checkout screens for their food courts in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing the food court's kitchen staff to focus solely on food preparation and service. The system requires payment via debit or credit card, ending the need for customers to exchange paper money or coinage with those employees, a potential vector for disease transmission.
Customers who do not want to interact with the cashier can use the self-checkout. Systems which allow payment through mobile payment or a digital wallet system allow the customer to purchase their items without having to touch any part of the system, outside the bagging area, though if they utilize returned reusable bags, it can be a completely touchless experience.
Self-checkout can also sometimes be faster than using a cashier lane. This can reduce the length of checkout lines and wait times. In a 2014 survey by NCR, 42% of customers said they liked the convenience of self-checkout, while 39% said it was faster than the cashier-assisted line. 90% of those surveyed responded as being users of self-checkout, with 7% of respondents saying they will always use self-checkout regardless of store lines and number of items. Respondents in Italy and Australia said they "always use self-checkout" at a rate of 13% and 9% respectively.
Another advantage is that self-checkouts can, if the necessary investment is made, provide a partly multilingual service. (It cannot be fully multilingual unless the goods themselves are labelled in all the relevant languages, which is often not the case.) For example, Tesco's Welsh stores can serve customers in both English and Welsh language, whereas finding enough fluent Welsh-speakers as staff can be difficult because in some areas only a small proportion of local people have Welsh as their first language.
Self-checkouts have been criticised for difficulties with usability and technical problems, which can worsen customer experience. In 2023, the British retailer Booths announced that it would cease operating self-checkouts in its stores to improve customer service.
Retailers have been known to use novelty voices for their self-service checkouts. For example, discount store Poundland has used the voices of Yoda, Elvis Presley, Count Dracula and Father Christmas on various occasions. In 2019, Marks & Spencer replaced its regular checkout announcers with the voices of judges from that year's season of Britain's Got Talent. The new voices led to an increase in customer complaints, with many questioning the appropriateness of some of the comments.
In some countries, voice prompts are not used at all by self-service checkouts.
Retailers employ a variety of retail loss prevention methods. Increasingly, multiple cameras are being used to catch skip-scanning at all self-checkout locations, some monitored by loss prevention employees and others being fed to artificial intelligence systems which can detect skip-scanning movements or behaviors. For example, in 2020 Kroger signed up with new systems that detect a skipped scan and shows a video to the consumer who is given the opportunity to correct their mistake. If they repeat the action, then an employee is notified. Some retails fit their self-checkout terminals with a CCTV system which displays the customer's face on a small video screen. The video is intended to deter shoplifters, but also has the potential to use an additional facial recognition system to identify known criminals. Some "missed-scan detection" systems have caused shoppers to feel embarrassed, harassed or accused, and honest shoppers to feel like they are being treated like thieves. It has even been suggested to avoid self-checkouts on the premise that one could be charged with theft even if one did not notice an item did not ring up correctly.
Since 2022, the British retailer Sainsbury's has introduced a receipt-scanning system in its stores. Self-checkout customers are held within a barriered area and are required to scan their printed receipt on an Barcode reader to open an automatic gate, before they are permitted to exit the store. The system has been criticised for presuming customers to be potentially guilty of theft until they are able to prove their innocence by presenting a receipt.
A study revealed that self-checkout machines increased shoplifting, 6.7% of transactions had some amount of shrink (theft), 1 in 5 shoppers admitted to accidentally taking an item without paying for it, 1 in 7 admitted to purposely stealing items, and individuals with household incomes over $100,000 per year were more likely to steal than lower income brackets.
In response to a 120% increase in retail theft in 2023, some Target stores countered by limiting how many items customers can take through self-checkout, and some stores closed all their self-checkout lanes.
In 2020, the Oregon AFL–CIO backed a proposed ballot measure in Oregon, US, to prohibit stores from operating more than two self-checkout machines.
|
|
