For some time now, we have been witnessing a change that is taking place in retail. A change that more and more chains are embracing with open arms is, of course, the shift toward organising areas in stores with self-checkout zone. By introducing this type of solution, staff costs are saved, and consumer service is improved.
This solution is also very popular with customers who appreciate the ability to make quick purchases with minimal interaction with another human being (who doesn’t feel like a troll from under a bridge sometimes who comes out into the light just to get food and get back to his cosy den as quickly as possible?) Few people feel like waiting in a long checkout line when all they have in their cart is a carton of milk and a package of cheese.
We have written about this trend before: https://perfecta-retail.com/self-checkouts-a-solution-to-retail-problems/
Although it sounds paradoxical, the main advantage of self-service cash registers – speed of service – is at the same time their biggest disadvantage. Why? Simple! The shorter waiting time in the checkout line, and the subsequent focus on the task of self-checkout and packaging of products, makes the customer less inclined to make impulse purchases of products displayed in the checkout area. For them, the shopping experience is over.
20 seconds
How big a problem this can be for a store manager is best illustrated by the results of a study conducted by specialists from the US company VideoMining (a link to the article is provided at the end of this text).
They confirm what seems obvious – longer waiting times in the checkout line translate into higher interest in the products displayed in the checkout area. But by how higher? According to the researchers, a 20-second longer wait translates into an 8% increase in engagement, which in turn results in a sales increase of between 3.3 and 4.8%!
Demographics don’t lie
At the same time, it is worth knowing that the results of the survey indicate that the group least willing to abandon the use of traditional, staffed cash registers are the seniors. In the group of customers over 56 years old, as many as 63% prefer to stand in line at a traditional checkout.
In addition, the percentage of male shoppers continues to rise, and men are on average 15% less likely to make impulse purchases at checkout.
It’s a good idea to take this data into account when choosing impulse products for the checkout area!
Self-checkout – what next?
So, what can be done to maximise the benefits of self-service checkouts while not limiting sales of impulse products such as magazines, beverages, candy bars, gum, etc.? (Especially since in some categories, such as energy drinks, impulse sales can account for more than 80% of total sales!)
First of all, it is useful to know what kind of customers use self-service checkouts, and which prefer to stay with the traditional solution. It turns out that in addition to the demographic differences mentioned above, the type of shopping is also important. People who make small, quick purchases prefer to use self-service checkouts. On the other hand, customers who fill a cart to the brim during their visit to the store are more likely to choose a traditional checkout with staff.
It is also important not to make the customer’s life too easy. It may sound strange and counterintuitive, but there is method in the madness! By directing traffic in the self-service area so that customers have to stand in line for a while for an unoccupied checkout, we give ourselves the opportunity to persuade them to make an impulse purchase from the racks set up in the area where the queue forms.
This is probably the best solution from the point of view of reconciling the different interests of the of the customer and the seller, since the shopper’s approach to the self-service checkout means the end of the shopping experience for them, and it is very difficult to get them to add something else to their cart at that point.
That’s why the proper layout of the self-service checkout area is so important. The trick is to get the customer to spend a moment waiting in line, but to make sure that moment is not too long at the same time. Balancing shopper satisfaction while getting them to make unplanned purchases is an art that retail is still learning.
You can read more about how to deal with this problem here: https://perfecta-retail.com/impulse-sales-in-checkout-zone/
And you can find a summary of the results of the American study here: https://www.videomining.com/nugget/self-checkout-changes-the-front-end-dynamics
