Targeting a shopping revolution: Retail giant aims for bullseye with transformative changes!
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In a world where convenience often trumps tradition, the retail landscape is constantly evolving to meet the demands of the modern shopper.
However, sometimes, what's old becomes new again, and that's exactly what's happening with a significant shift in the way a popular retail store in the United States—a change that could very well revolutionise the shopping experience in Australia, too.
Caleb Bond, host of The Late Debate on Sky News Australia, recently discussed the recent change Target in the US made—limiting self-service checkouts to consumers with 10 items or fewer while bringing back ‘more manned checkouts to compensate’.
According to him, this change was trialled last year, and the results were telling—self-service lines moved twice as fast, and customer surveys indicated a more satisfying shopping experience.
He also mentioned another retail giant in the US, Dollar General, that also took note of the change.
After heavily investing in self-service technology in 2022, according to him, the company's CEO later admitted that the business ‘should be using self-checkout as a secondary checkout vehicle, not a primary’.
Caleb then called for Australian retailers to do the same.
‘The big supermarkets are suffering enough grief at the moment with accusations of price gouging and ripping off farmers. Winding back self-service and bringing back real checkouts would be an easy win,’ he said.
‘They have been a frustrating, failed experiment. No doubt supermarkets would claim that self-service is popular, and its use has soared—but that is only because all the real checkouts have been ripped out, and customers have been left with little choice.’
He also related this to his experience in his local Coles store, having only three or four manned checkouts while the rest are self-service.
Caleb argued that it's not a matter of preference for customers; rather, they feel compelled to do so.
‘The point of self-service was meant to be two-fold: supermarkets would save on labour as customers would do their own scanning, and consumers would receive faster service,’ he said.
‘But neither of those have turned out to be true.’
‘Staff are constantly required to assist customers when machines chuck a fit, and people soon worked out they could use self-service to steal by ringing up more expensive produce as cheaper items or not scanning them at all,’ he added.
He also contended that supermarkets came to the realisation that they were not saving money, but actually losing it.
As a result, they implemented measures such as installing surveillance cameras above checkouts to closely monitor customers' actions, and electric gates to prevent potential theft by locking shoppers inside the store if suspicious behaviour is detected.
‘This, unsurprisingly, makes customers feel like criminals before they’ve committed any crime,’ he continued.
Caleb also recalled another surprising encounter at another store where ‘a Woolworths self-service checkout going mad’ due to still having a bag in his trolley.
‘I was taken aback. I’m not a thief. And all that rigmarole makes you go back to a traditional checkout,’ he recounted.
How about the supposed speed advantage? For Caleb, It's not holding up.
He cited British trade magazine The Grocer's mystery shopper survey, Grocer 33, which reported record low satisfaction with customer service, largely due to longer wait times at staffed checkouts as a result of the reduction in their number.
Another poll, in Australia this time, found that many Aussies are against the use of self-service checkouts in retail stores.
‘We’re over it. We just want some customer service,’ Caleb declared.
‘If I wanted to scan groceries I’d get a job at a supermarket—except, I suppose, that they’ve taken those jobs away in favour of machines.’
As Australian shopping experiences potentially undergo a significant transformation with proposed changes at major retailers like Target, the debate over the effectiveness and future of self-serve checkouts remains contentious.
While some industry giants explore alternative strategies to enhance customer experiences, the prevalence of self-service technologies continues to face scrutiny both locally and internationally.
What are your thoughts on the balance between self-service and manned checkouts? Do you miss the personal touch, or do you prefer the speed and autonomy of doing it yourself?
Share your experiences and opinions with us in the comments below.
However, sometimes, what's old becomes new again, and that's exactly what's happening with a significant shift in the way a popular retail store in the United States—a change that could very well revolutionise the shopping experience in Australia, too.
Caleb Bond, host of The Late Debate on Sky News Australia, recently discussed the recent change Target in the US made—limiting self-service checkouts to consumers with 10 items or fewer while bringing back ‘more manned checkouts to compensate’.
According to him, this change was trialled last year, and the results were telling—self-service lines moved twice as fast, and customer surveys indicated a more satisfying shopping experience.
He also mentioned another retail giant in the US, Dollar General, that also took note of the change.
After heavily investing in self-service technology in 2022, according to him, the company's CEO later admitted that the business ‘should be using self-checkout as a secondary checkout vehicle, not a primary’.
Caleb Bond shared his opinions on self-service checkout after Target in the US reduced its use. Credits: Shutterstock
Caleb then called for Australian retailers to do the same.
‘The big supermarkets are suffering enough grief at the moment with accusations of price gouging and ripping off farmers. Winding back self-service and bringing back real checkouts would be an easy win,’ he said.
‘They have been a frustrating, failed experiment. No doubt supermarkets would claim that self-service is popular, and its use has soared—but that is only because all the real checkouts have been ripped out, and customers have been left with little choice.’
He also related this to his experience in his local Coles store, having only three or four manned checkouts while the rest are self-service.
Caleb argued that it's not a matter of preference for customers; rather, they feel compelled to do so.
‘The point of self-service was meant to be two-fold: supermarkets would save on labour as customers would do their own scanning, and consumers would receive faster service,’ he said.
‘But neither of those have turned out to be true.’
‘Staff are constantly required to assist customers when machines chuck a fit, and people soon worked out they could use self-service to steal by ringing up more expensive produce as cheaper items or not scanning them at all,’ he added.
He also contended that supermarkets came to the realisation that they were not saving money, but actually losing it.
As a result, they implemented measures such as installing surveillance cameras above checkouts to closely monitor customers' actions, and electric gates to prevent potential theft by locking shoppers inside the store if suspicious behaviour is detected.
‘This, unsurprisingly, makes customers feel like criminals before they’ve committed any crime,’ he continued.
Caleb also recalled another surprising encounter at another store where ‘a Woolworths self-service checkout going mad’ due to still having a bag in his trolley.
‘I was taken aback. I’m not a thief. And all that rigmarole makes you go back to a traditional checkout,’ he recounted.
How about the supposed speed advantage? For Caleb, It's not holding up.
He cited British trade magazine The Grocer's mystery shopper survey, Grocer 33, which reported record low satisfaction with customer service, largely due to longer wait times at staffed checkouts as a result of the reduction in their number.
Another poll, in Australia this time, found that many Aussies are against the use of self-service checkouts in retail stores.
‘We’re over it. We just want some customer service,’ Caleb declared.
‘If I wanted to scan groceries I’d get a job at a supermarket—except, I suppose, that they’ve taken those jobs away in favour of machines.’
As Australian shopping experiences potentially undergo a significant transformation with proposed changes at major retailers like Target, the debate over the effectiveness and future of self-serve checkouts remains contentious.
While some industry giants explore alternative strategies to enhance customer experiences, the prevalence of self-service technologies continues to face scrutiny both locally and internationally.
Share your experiences and opinions with us in the comments below.
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