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Technologies that allow shoppers to bypass the checkout line, such as scan-and-go, come in many forms and some have been around for a long time. With the potential to reduce checkout lines and ease labor constraints, grocers continue to invest in self-checkout technologies. But consumer adoption has been slow and grocers still haven’t ironed out some of their technology kinks, leading to theft and disillusioned shoppers.
“The technology challenge of actually implementing it can overshadow the importance of the user experience,” said Jackie Walker, head of North American retail experience strategy at Publicis Sapient. “When that happens, it just creates a new way to reduce friction and frustrate customers.”
Frustration of self-affirmation
The pandemic has meant that self-checkout technology for flights has created the perfect environment: contactless and making it easy for people to social distance at check-out.
Because of the potential opportunities it offers, Walker said it makes sense why retailers are investing in cashier-less technology such as scan-and-go, Just Walk Out or smart carts. The checkout line is one of the most common causes of complaint for many consumers. 67% of 1,000 survey respondents said they have experienced self-service checkout The failure of the kioskAccording to a 2021 report from experience management platform Radiant.
However, widespread consumer adoption is still lagging. In a survey of U.S. adults, 14% of women and 15% of men said they regularly use cashier-less checkout technologies, according to an August Inside Intelligence e-commerce study by Bizerte Insights. Meanwhile, 27% and 22% of women and men, respectively, have not used them and are not interested, according to the study.
Older consumers are also less inclined to use cashless technology. The same survey found that 21% of 18- to 34-year-olds use this technology regularly, compared to 16% of 35- to 54-year-olds and only 6% of 55- to 65-year-olds.
“Consumers had mixed reactions,” Walker said. “It certainly seems to suggest that there is a bit of a generational divide when it comes to accepting self-screening options.”
Large-scale rollouts of these self-checkout innovations can be prohibitively expensive, making consumer adoption difficult to capture, said Suzy Davidkanian, principal analyst at market research firm Insider Intelligence. For example, experts They estimate that by 2020, Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology will sell for around $1 million.Even large retailers find mass expansion financially challenging. The Sunday Times reported that Amazon launched in August Stop the release Dozens of Amazon fresh stores, amid economic uncertainty and sales expectations.
Amazon in 2010 In 2020, cashier-less Just Walk Out will begin selling the technology, he said. Although some retailers use Just Walk Out like Hudson’s of Travel Retail, others have yet to fully embrace this capability.
“The news is not as readily available as it sounds,” Davidkanian said. “America is huge. There are many stores that are out of reach for most people from an environmental perspective.
In addition to simply launching self-checkouts, retailers must maintain and update them regularly to adapt to shoppers’ needs. When Wegmans Scan announced it was canceling its mobile app, the company said it had “tried several adjustments to keep up.” The free app allows shoppers to scan items while shopping for groceries and pay for the products at the self-checkout register.
“We’ve decided to shut down the app until we make improvements that meet the needs of our customers and business,” a Wegmans spokesperson told Modern Retailer in an emailed statement. “We’ve learned a lot, and we’ll continue to introduce new digital solutions to streamline the shopping experience in the future.”
So does ShopRite Check and pay initiative with mobile scan The app dates back a decade, allowing people to scan grocery items on their phones and direct them to a specific checkout station. Although MobileScan is available in multiple stores, the app currently has a 2.2-star rating on Google Play and a 2.8-star rating on the App Store. Some reviews said the scan feature stopped working, while others said they had to contact customer service to fix the problem.
Technology issues aside, Davidkanian says getting consumers to download the app is a big hurdle for everyday retailers. “Consumers value the memory of their cell phones,” says Davidkanian. “You don’t want to have every app under the sun.”
Several reports say shoplifting was one of the reasons Wegmans stopped the app. In a statement, Topps Markets said that although the Shop & Scan app improves the shopping experience, “theft is part of the everyday occurrence.”
Attempts at self-examination do not disappear.
The recent problems surrounding self-checkout aren’t enough to deter retailers from accelerating their investment, experts say.
in fact, Instacart It recently launched in-store technology, including AI-powered Keper carts as well as scan-and-pay capabilities. Sam’s Club recently a Collaborative design studio To quickly release innovations such as Scan and Go and Scan and Ship.
Additionally, some retailers continue. Hunting employees in the store Even after last year’s holiday season, it’s a sign that retailers will face a struggle filling low-wage roles. Allowing shoppers to scan their own items reduces the need for an employee to manage the register.
“It’s the right time for brands to experiment with this technology because it has very significant labor cost implications,” said Publicis’ Sapient Walker. “I expect to see some evolution.”
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