Did you know that 73% of consumers prefer the speed and convenience of self-service checkouts for a better shopping experience? Meanwhile, 60% of shoppers are irritated by long checkout lines, and 48.7% say they use self-checkout options “basically all the time.”
More retailers are incorporating self-checkout systems to meet market demands and boost their bottom lines. If you’re still on the fence, consider how these five retail self-checkout benefits can help you improve customer experience and operational efficiency:
1. Reduce Customer Wait Time
Nobody likes to wait in long checkout lines. In some cases (e.g., convenience stores,) long queues may even deter customers who want to “grab and go” from completing their purchases.
By fitting a few self-checkout stations in the space occupied by one cashier lane, you can shorten checkout lines, improve checkout efficiency, and serve more customers simultaneously. The streamlined experience also helps improve customer satisfaction and makes shoppers more likely to return to your store.
2. Meet Consumer Expectations
Besides shorter queues and faster transactions, many people use self-service checkouts for more privacy and control over their purchases.
Self-checkouts have become part of the big-box retail experience, and many consumers take such convenience for granted no matter where they shop. Modernizing your checkout flow can help you stay relevant and competitive as customer expectations evolve.
3. Boost Employee Productivity
Instead of hiring five employees to operate five checkout lanes, you can have one team member manage five or six self-service stations to increase checkout efficiency.
Moreover, automation frees employees up to work on tasks like restocking, cleaning, and scheduling — which often get ignored during peak times and may affect the customer experience. Plus, you don’t have to hire more staff during busy periods. You can reduce labor costs without impacting revenue.
4. Increase Store Capacity
Self-service checkout stations have a much smaller footprint than traditional checkout lanes. Most stores can fit four units in the area occupied by a regular till.
You can free up floor space to handle more customers or stock more items. Plus, modern-looking self-checkout stations can help reduce visual clutter and create a perception of spaciousness to make your store look more inviting.
5. Minimize Losses and Errors
Theft or human error accounts for a significant portion of losses. Self-checkout helps reduce those caused by cash handlings, such as miscalculations in the float, fraud, or theft.
Additionally, automation and integration ensure all transaction data is synched instantly with your inventory management system and back-office software. You don’t have to worry about costly errors caused by the manual transfer of such information — who wants to spend hours just to track down a few dollars?
How To Meet Customer Expectations With the Right Self-Checkout System
Here's what to know when choosing a system that meets your business requirements and customer demands to reap these self-checkout benefits.
Customers Expect the Technology To Work
This may sound obvious, but did you know that 25.1% of consumers have encountered a self-checkout that didn’t work? Unreliable, failing, or outdated self-checkout stations can create a frustrating customer experience and a negative impression of your brand.
Choose a retail technology vendor that not only supplies the software and hardware but also provides ongoing support and maintenance to ensure the POS system functions as intended and delivers an outstanding customer experience.
Customers Equate Self-Checkout With Speed
Over 85% of consumers perceive self-checkout as faster than cashier-led ones. Speed is a crucial factor that attracts consumers to use self-service retail technologies — a slow experience will drive them away, and you may end up with stations that take up space instead of helping you improve checkout efficiency.
Your self-checkout should also be able to process transactions quickly to avoid customer frustration. Also, the interface should be easy-to-use so customers don’t get stuck and have to wait for assistance.
Industry-Leading Self-Checkout Technology Backed By Best-in-Class Customer Service
When the rubber meets the road, which self-checkout station should you choose? NCR FastLane SelfServ Checkout R6L is the retail technology of choice for top grocery, supermarket, and convenience and fuel retailers.
But buying the right equipment is just the beginning. You also need to configure it to meet your business needs and maintain it to minimize downtime that can result in the loss of sales and a frustrating customer experience.
DUMAC makes the best-of-breed retail technology available to our customers. But we don’t stop there. We also help them set up the POS systems and provide the support they need to ensure the solution delivers a top-notch customer experience day in and day out.
Learn more about our service-first approach and get in touch to see how we can help you create a modern customer experience.
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