Self-Checkout Systems

Paper Summary:

The paper evaluates thirty observations of shoppers using automated checkout lanes at Home Depot, concentrating on twelve of them that illustrate the highest levels of variation in customer service levels. The paper demonstrates the problems and frustration these automated checkout systems cause for more complicated transactions. The paper concludes that Do-It-Yourself (DIY) retailers continue to invest in self-service checkout lanes despite their relative low use and evident frustration, due to the significant cost reductions possible even with low usage rates. The paper attaches an overview of all transactions by date and the legend of values used to code the results as Appendix A and a frequency distribution table as Appendix B.

Outline:
Introduction
Key Findings from the Analysis
Customer Service Triage at Home Depot
Balancing Automated and Personalized Service
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Automated self-service check-out lanes are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout many retailers as this technology has the potential to significantly reduce costs of providing additional attendants to staff checkout lanes with cash registers, in addition to freeing up staff to work the isles of the store and provide greater customer service. The analysis of twelve specific transactions however out of a total set of thirty shows that the ability of these self-service checkout lanes to manage anything but the most simplest of transactions causes a greater level of manual intervention from customer service representatives working at the store."

Sample of Sources Used:

• AMR Research (2003) - Self-Checkout Systems--Waiting for the 'Aha!' Moment. Wednesday April 9, 2003. Paula Rosenblum. Boston, MA
• AMR Research-1 (2003) - The Aha Moment Arrives Wednesday April 9, 2003. Paula Rosenblum. Boston, MA
• CapGemini (2003) - TRANSFORMING THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY, A Study in European Consumer Buying Behaviour. Accessed from the Internet on November 6, 2007 from location: http://www.no.capgemini.com/m/no/tl/pdf_Transforming_The_Shopping_Experience_Through_Technology__A_Study_in_European_Consumer_Buying_Behaviour_.pdf

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