Self-checkout

A woman operates the NCR FastLane self checkout at a Wal-Mart store.

Self checkout machines are automated alternatives to the traditional cashier-staffed checkout at retailers.

Description

Some retailers have introduced self checkout machines, where the customer is permitted to scan the barcodes on their own items, and manually identify items such as fruits and vegetables (usually with a touchscreen display), which are then weighed where applicable, and place the items into a bagging area. The weight observed in the bagging area is checked against previously stored information to ensure that the correct item is bagged, allowing the customer to proceed only if the observed and expected weights match, although not all machines do this.

In some self-checkout systems, rather than weighing items in the bagging area, a conveyor belt is provided to move items from the barcode scanner to the bagging area. In such a system, the item is checked while it is on the conveyor belt, reducing the confusion and limited working space sometimes associated with "bag-as-you-scan" systems.

There is normally an attendant watching over several self checkout machines, to provide assistance, prevent theft through exploitation of the machines' weaknesses, and to enforce payment. Attendant assistance is also required for the purchase of age-restricted items such as alcohol and tobacco.

Payment on these machines is accepted by card via EFTPOS, or cash via coin slot and bank note scanner. In addition, many stores also allow customers to pay via check with attendant assistance. Most coupons also have barcodes and can be scanned the same way that items are scanned.

Benefits

The benefit to the customer is in the reduced checkout time because stores are often able to efficiently run two to six self checkout units where it normally would have had one cashier. Some customers appreciate the ability to not have to deal with anymore giving an illusion of privacy.

The benefit to the retailer in providing self checkout machines is in reduced staffing requirements since one attendant is all that is required to run 4 to 6 checkout lanes at one time.

Challenges

The time efficiency requires that the customers using the machine be reasonably competent. An inexperienced customer can cause the same sort of delays as an inexperienced cashier on a conventional register.

As the weight observed in the bagging area is checked to allow the customer to proceed only if the observed and expected weights match, it is difficult to reconcile with the use of environmentally preferable alternatives to shop-provided bags, for example, baskets, rucksacks, and other reusable (but heavier) carriers.

Some self-check installations seem to suffer from system integration problems and user interface design issues that limit the productivity rate of the checkout station. In particular, many systems (Lowes and Wal-Mart installations, for example) require that the display show an animation and play a recorded voice instruction after every single item scanned, before the next item can be processed. Often the cycle time for this is much longer than the time actually needed for a competent customer to ready the next item for scanning. This results in the customer being interrupted after every item to wait for the system. In many cases, the systems appear to have inadequate processing hardware for the degree of user interface graphics they are attempting to display, resulting in substantial lag whenever the screen needs to update or change. The minimum achievable cycle time for these systems as implemented seems to be in the range of one item every 5 seconds or so. These problems limit the maximum theoretical throughput of the self-check stations to far less than the normal throughput of a regular register with a clerk, which has a cycle time of less than 1 second per scan.

Another problem which frequently occurs is the bagging scale failing to properly register the weight of the items purchased. The systems often falsely report that unscanned items have been bagged, or that scanned items were not placed in the bag. These false alerts stop the checkout process and require the store attendant to come unlock the system, often eliminating any time savings that could have been realized by using self-checkout instead of waiting in line for a regular register.

Alternative system

An alternative system consists of a portable barcode scanner that is used by the customer to scan and bag items while shopping. When the customer has finished shopping, the scanner is brought to a checkout kiosk, where the information from the barcode scanner is downloaded to the kiosk, usually in conjunction with a customer loyalty card. The customer pays and receives a receipt at the checkout kiosk. The integrity of the system is maintained through the use of random audits or RFID. The system was in use at many larger Safeway stores in the United Kingdom until the stores were rebranded as Morrisons after the chains merged. Waitrose uses this system under the name Quick Check. This system is also used at some Martin's and Tops stores in the United States as EasyShop,, Pak'n Save in New Zealand and Superquinn in Ireland, where it is branded SuperScan.

Theft on these services is reduced by a combination of a high barrier to entry (Waitrose for example requires users of its service to have one of their credit cards, which in itself requires a credit check and the provision of identification) and occasional audits of customers' shopping, where customers chosen at random are taken to a specialised till and have their shopping scanned in the usual way.

See also

• Cash register
• Point of sale
• RFID
• Smartstores

External links

• Self-Service World - News portal concerning Self-Service Technology
• KioskMarketplace.com - Industry news site devoted to kiosks and related technology
• IBM Self Checkout - IBM self checkout overview of portfolio, whitepapers and additional resources.
• NCR FastLane Self-checkout