Are you demanding enough from your self-checkouts?

It’s worth emphasizing that technologies like SCO are not objectives in themselves. It’s the business outcomes they enable that we will focus on in this article. Fashion and specialty stores, especially those with a high volume of transactions, are the ideal candidates to introduce Self-Checkout. Compared to cashier tills, SCO can increase the number of transactions in a smaller footprint in store, because each installation requires less space and shoppers are more inclined to complete a purchase if they do not need to interact with a cashier or wait in line!

To a large extent, these changes are being driven by a new emphasis on the customer experience (CX). Research shows that over 74% of retailers invest in digital because they want to improve consumer satisfaction, while 66% say they’re also doing it to deliver excellent customer experiences. That’s a nod to the recognition that a happy customer will be eager to come back for more.

Customer engagement and the experience that goes hand in hand is essential. The Digital Transformation Trends for the Retail 2021 Report, authored by research firm Data Driven – uncovered a dramatic change in priorities for retailers in just a short 12-month period. Until recently, making revenue and hitting targets topped the list; in 2021, this was replaced by customer satisfaction, and the importance of boosting customer engagement went straight into the top ten.

The good news is that SCO also delivers in terms of CX outcomes. It reduces long lines and queuing times and — in a world newly sensitized to viral transmission — means less contact with staff and other people in the store. It offers more than that too. At a time of intense skills shortages, SCO can relieve the pressure of constantly hiring store staff, because fewer front-line staff are required to support SCO. So with a smaller shop floor footprint and the potential for a lower staff-to-revenue ratio, SCO means higher operational efficiency.