Retailers Re-Embrace Self-Checkout for a Quick Win

Retail store leaders are facing three huge asks: Squeeze more productivity from the workforce, operationalize click and collect, and make shopping fast, fun and friction-free. Oh, and of course, move fast. Many retailers are scoring a quick win on all three by adding or expanding self-checkout, considered an easy way to automate on the store floor to free up labor for click and collect and customer assistance.

Mature users like grocers and discounters are expanding self-checkout to as many as half of their checkout lanes at top performing locations, while simultaneously introducing the concept at lower-volume stores. New verticals including convenience, drug, dollar, department and even apparel are testing the self-checkout waters; Urban Outfitters is expanding to additional locations after a NYC pilot, for example, and Macy’s is planning phone-based self-checkout in 450 stores.

More than a quarter of retailers have started or plan a major self-checkout upgrade (14% have started but not finished, 7% will start within 12 months, 5% within 12-24 months), according to the “2018 RIS/Gartner Retail Tech Study.” And it is predicted that the self-checkout system market will grow at more than 8% CAGR from 2017 to 2024, according to Global Markets Insights.

Check-stand-style self-checkout has continued to mature, with new technologies aimed at reducing bugaboos in weight-based security. Retailers now have a range of variations to choose from, many incorporating mobile devices. The following four-step plan will help retailers find the best-fit self-checkout solution for their environments: