SELF SERVICE CHECKOUT TECHNOLOGY IS A WINNER IN RECESSION
New research from Planet Retail reveals self-service technology as one of the few winners in the current economic crisis. Its latest report, Self-Service Checkouts: How the next generation of self-service changes retailing, predicts the global number of stores with some kind of self-service checkout technology will triple by the end of 2013 at the latest.
According to the report findings, in the tough economic environment, retailers have shifted their IT budgets, looking for ways to cut costs and to employ staff more efficiently without sacrificing customer satisfaction. “For shoppers, queuing at the checkout is one of the most frustrating in store experiences,” explains Björn Weber, Planet Retail’s Research Director Retail Technology. Consequently, key players in global retailing, such as Carrefour and IKEA, have begun rolling out self-service checkouts at a fast pace across their entire store networks.
Further proof of this growing trend is the increased implementation of self-checkouts in non-food stores and for the very first time, at retail outlets in emerging markets.
The report studies self-service checkout initiatives across the world’s top 30 retailers and identifies best practices. It also provides insight into the different solutions available as well as new developments not yet released from technology providers, such as fully automated scanning systems.
However, not all initiatives have proven successful. The study also explores the failure of some self-service projects over the last twelve months. “The best technology can not succeed if the new forms of self-service are poorly communicated to shoppers and employees working in the stores”, Weber says.
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