A major UK supermarket has removed self-checkouts from most stores and it seems customers couldn’t be happier. Booths, the grocery chain based in Lancashire, first made the move back in November 2023, and now managing director Nigel Murray has revealed that customer satisfaction ratings have been soaring.
He told The Grocer: “We’re at 74 now, up from 70 (out of 100). Not all of that is due to the fact that we’ve taken self-service checkouts out of many of the stores… But when you look at things like service, into the ‘promise of things to come’ section, we’ve scored brilliantly.
“Because in really simple terms if you’ve got somebody who is doing a job repetitively for six, seven, eight hours a day, they are going to do it faster and better than if you are just turning up to do it once every three days.”
This change comes as other retailers are tweaking their checkout experiences. Home Bargains, for example, is tackling theft by implementing a significant update to its self-checkouts.
Home Bargains is testing new anti-theft software where AI integrated with CCTV will detect whether items at self-checkout have been properly scanned.
The retailer is working with tech companies SAI, Storewide Active Intelligence, and Everseen to embed this technology into its security systems. SAI has described this advancement as transforming standard security cameras into “specialised and capable in-store AI assistants.”
Meanwhile, Aldi has announced customers will now be able to purchase lottery tickets at self-checkout machines as part of its expanded services. Previously, these were only available at manned checkouts.
In contrast, Asda is planning to increase the number of staff on checkouts, acknowledging that it has reached a limit with self-service tills. The supermarket stated that while self-checkouts are efficient for customers, it aims to invest more hours into having manned checkouts.
Asda insisted this decision was not influenced by shoppers’ preference for human assistance over machines. It comes as a poll last year found 60 per cent of Britons prefer to use a traditional cashier as opposed to self-checkouts.
The survey, by UK consultancy Daemon, found just 14 per cent said the former was their favourite method of shopping. Daemon said this highlighted “the lasting appeal of personal touch-points in the evolving customer shopping experience”.
Jimmy Headdon, head of delivery excellence at Daemon said: “Cashiers will always have a place, offering a human touch and familiarity, which may be why they are the preference of older generations. Generally, people who feel confused or unsure about using self-service checkouts may avoid them, opting for the reassurance of personal interaction when something goes wrong, like an error with scanning or payment.”
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