How retail-tech will give checkouts a new lease of life

How we feel about self-checkouts: 

• 47% of us actively avoid them (at almost any cost).
• 73% of us have dumped our basket whilst waiting to use one.
• 87% of us feel it’s a hassle to unpack a full basket and scan everything in one go.

Under half of us are regularly using self-checkout machines with three quarters of us admitting to having problems with them. Issues can range from reliability, dealing with restricted items, the weight of products or the infamous unexpected items. Offers showcased in stores are not taken into account until you proceed to the payment, which is usually not made clear or even mentioned. Therefore, we as consumers, do not trust them. 

Over the last 20 years, retailers have invested huge amounts in these machines, and this comes at a price. Typically, the self-checkouts are marketed between £10K and £40K, which does not take into account the hefty maintenance costs either. Many retailers are only just investing in these machines now. Although 2019 is presenting some exciting progressions in the retail-tech market, these machines still serve a purpose, especially when used in conjunction with the Ubamarket app. 

Firstly, our mobile phones act as a window to the world and now our entire lives can be managed from one device. Apply Pay and other apps featuring in-app payments have proven to be a hit and are in-keeping with the convenience we all want and love. For instance, Wagamama have partnered with Mastercard to launch their in-app payments, which means no more waiting to pick up the bill. Weatherspoons are another hospitality group who have adopted this, you can order food and drinks without even leaving the table. Why not make your food shopping experience as easy as possible? 

However, pure in-aisle payment is not everyone’s cup of tea just yet, and some consumers and retailers do need persuasion. Many retailers, quite understandably, would prefer to ‘channel’ shoppers out of their stores via a set-route. Secondly, shoppers may feel more comfortable if they ‘checkout’ at an official ‘pod’, even with a simple tap of their phone. This enables retailers to authorise certain restricted products and even utilise our additional security features for ultimate safety and convenience. 

Research has found that shoppers steal around £3.2bn from self-service checkouts so, as a retailer, taking any measures to halt this altogether can only be a positive progression. Moreover, there are widely acclaimed cons which leads to significant shrinkage, for instance claiming avocados are onions! Ubamarket’s ‘loose product’ feature eradicates this entirely. 

In the past, the industry has seen a reluctance in retailers to invest in self-checkouts. Until now. With Ubamarket as the ‘hook’, they’re keen to install self-checkouts with the sole purpose of working in conjunction with the app, to offer app shoppers a ‘three second’ checkout experience via a specific exit route.

Ubamarket aims to present solutions to a number of problems:

• Scanning takes place as you move around the shop (resulting in 21% bigger baskets) and eradicating ‘dumped’ baskets.
• Shoppers see a running total (meaning they statistically add another couple of items).
• Shoppers get in-vision allergy and recyclable plastic alerts.
• Shoppers can add personalised offers as they shop, with one tap.
• Shoppers have already scanned traditional ‘loose items’ so there’s no hassle at checkout.
• Weighted items are either pre-weighed (where applicable) or can be added seamlessly at the SCO with one tap.
• Shoppers can approach a self-checkout machine and tap the app to pay without re-scanning or queueing.
• Security and spot checks are simple and effective. Shrinkage is greatly reduced.

And finally, even spot checks with self-checkout machines in their current format is difficult and time consuming. What if the shopper hasn’t chosen to take their receipt? It can be fiddly and difficult for retailers and consumers to check scraps of receipts with faded ink which can easily be misplaced or difficult to understand. On an app screen it’s big, bright, bold and compulsory; so it’s largely self-regulating.