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The failure of self-checkout technology

bbc.com

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Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#371

Post by Symbiote »

alpaca128 wrote: post #260
CM30 wrote: post #248

It feels like almost all the issues with self-checkout technology come from the attempts to minimise shoplifting, which don't even seem that effective at doing that. In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple time…

> In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient How would it be more efficient than a traditional checkout? There's no way the average person can match the speed of a cashier who does that every day, and at least the supermarkets I've visited don't have enough self checkout machines to…

Many grocery shops in European cities are fairly small, especially near or in the city centre. They might only have room for two checkouts, or one checkout and 3-6 self-checkouts.

If I'm only buying a few items, I find it faster to use the self checkout.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#372

Post by DanielHB »

HPsquared wrote: post #317
DanielHB wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In theory, a system that let you scan products the same way checkout staff do without any weight checks or bagging area rules or other interruptions would be incredibly efficient. Especially if you could do things like scan the same product multiple times if you were buying multiple copies of it. The supermarkets in Sweden work like this, the only thing some of they do is random checks. In some chains you do need t…

The big supermarkets in the UK have a "scan as you shop" system. There is a portable scanner you take along with the trolley and scan each item as you put it in the trolley (directly into a bag - avoiding the bagging step). You then just go to the self-checkout and pay for what you scanned. They do spot checks at the checkout, especially for "new" customers. It's tied to your identity (need to scan a store card to un…

yeah that is the case in Sweden as well, but you can also scan at checkout if you want. The random checks are the same for either, but there is no weight system or cameras or rfid or anything else besides the random checks to prevent theft

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#373

Post by jen20 »

snakeyjake wrote: post #146

>employees who get taken away from their other duties to help customers deal with the confusing and error prone kiosks. I have seen these customers. I do not understand. What are they doing at the self-checkout that is confusing? I have used dozens of different implementations and they are all simplicity incarnate. So I just lump them all in with the folks who don't know that cars need oil changes, take more than 45…

Typically the confusion is caused by under-spec’d hardware or web-grade software making something that should respond in 2-3 milliseconds take a second per interaction. They’re only simple if you’ve never experienced something that works correctly and in accordance with HCI standards.

Airport self checkin machines are the same - but also lacking the range of options the expert member of staff has.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#374

Post by Symbiote »

hackan wrote: post #92

I love self-checkout, honestly. Machines need to improve, but still. There's a store here where u simply DROP all items in the self-checkout basket, and it automatically computes everything! I suspect it uses NFC or similar, but it works, and its wonderful, simply drop everything in! And wait, there's more: did I say drop everything in? I meant, the bag you are using to hold everything? just put it in that basket, in…

Uniqlo's system was discussed here in December: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38715111

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#375

Post by freeone3000 »

pjmlp wrote: post #41
Faaak wrote: post #30

I really like those that you can find in Switzerland (either in Coop or Migros). The basic assumption is "trust the customer". Thus, the self-checkout devices don't have the annoying "you must weight the article you just scanned". You just scan them one by one, add them to your bag, pay at the end, and that's it. Sometimes (it happens to me around 1/year) you get a random search, which is not that bad as they just ra…

Trust like in Switzerland is a very rare thing in most countries, you will seldom see newspaper stands with money boxes where everyone is expected to take one single paper out and leave the money in the tiny box, anywhere else this would fail.

These are a thing in the United States, the country about which the article is written: https://l450v.alamy.com/450v/c8xnfn/usa-today-news-racks-new...

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#376

Post by freeone3000 »

mbork_pl wrote: post #85
gregoriol wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'll be marginal at some point, like people riding horses to work.

Maybe, though I doubt it. Cash has some advantages which make it very appealing in certain circumstances. Anonymity is only one of them, and probably not even the most important one – cash does not rely on network being available.

Where do you live where there isn't 24/7 internet saturation from at least three different sources? When the internet goes out, the stores just close.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#377

Post by paulorlando »

A related read on this focused on self-checkout's impact on shoplifting. "Do the unintended consequences of job automation include creating shoplifters? People build products and companies to automate tasks, especially costly, dangerous, and monotonous tasks. For many of the tasks already automated, the effect is already invisible, the history forgotten, unstudied, and unknown. People find it surprising to learn that anyone used to do these specific tasks manually." https://unintendedconsequenc.es/do-we-create-shoplifters/

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#378

Post by chasd00 »

rimeice wrote: post #28

I find it interesting that the experience of having a human interaction with a cashier is rarely discussed in this debate. It's such a good opportunity to impart your brand as a retailer through a human to human conversation and leave a customer with a positive impression. I'm less loyal to a machine than a person I recognise through several interactions from my local community. There must be a cost associated with t…

If grocery stores wanted to promote their brand through the checkout process they’d tell their cashiers to not say a word. Most cashiers at my local grocery store are teens who hate working there.

Re: The failure of self-checkout technology

#380

Post by KptMarchewa »

Aeolun wrote: post #217

My problem with self-checkout (in the Netherlands) is not the interface or the system itself. I can navigate that. But then when I've finished checking out and bagging everything myself, the guy from the store came to do the whole thing again! I just stood there in utter disbelief as they rummaged through my neatly packed bag to mess everything up, scan only a handful of items, and then present me a bill that's sever…

Never seen that in Poland and I use self checkout all the time.
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