Love it or hate it, self-checkout is here to stay. But it's undergoing a reckoning.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, New York - Customers at Stew Leonard's grocery store in Palisades, New Jersey, are using self-checkout kiosks. As retailers navigate through one of the busiest times of the year, self-checkout faces various challenges.
New York (AP) - The promise of self-checkout is enticing: customers can scan and bag their own items to avoid long lines, workers can be freed from mundane tasks, and retailers can save on labor costs. But along with all that has come since the introduction of self-checkout, there are issues: customers complain about clunky technology issuing mysterious error codes, workers must stand around monitoring humans and machines, and retailers grapple with theft. Self-checkout was first tested in supermarkets in the late 1980s and gained momentum 20 years ago. But three years ago, grocers ramped up efforts to address the severe labor shortages brought on by the pandemic. Nevertheless, self-checkout hasn't disappeared, especially as labor shortages persist. And many people like it. A 67-year-old woman says she enjoys shopping at Stop & Shop because of its "scan and go" technology, allowing her to scan items with a device while shopping and then tally up the bill. She can pay at either a self-service terminal or a staffed checkout. Retailers have been adding cameras or sensors to checkout kiosks to monitor shoppers. For example, Kroger has deployed artificial intelligence technology in most stores, which triggers alerts when issues arise. For instance, if a shopper fails to successfully scan a particular item, the system will flag the error on the screen and prompt the customer to rectify it themselves. If the customer is unable to resolve the issue independently, a beacon above the self-checkout station will flash to attract the attention of staff. More advanced technologies have been making strides. Bernadette Christian, 59, works at Giant Food in Clinton, Maryland, overseeing six self-service stations. She says she doesn't dare help or confront shoppers, who she says have become angrier since the pandemic. "For us, when cashiers would be easy, and a lot safer in today's world," she said.
