The Kroger on Whitlock has been doing this for some time, while I have noticed that Publix hasn’t been as quick to jump on the bandwagon – I wonder why? After reading this, I see what they mean – I am less likely to buy stuff if I have to scan my groceries myself.
What do you think?
The Associated Press
ATLANTA – The magazines, candy bars and lighters stocked beside traditional checkout counters linger on shelves a little longer these days as the popularity of scan-it-yourself registers grows.
According to new research from retail technology advisory firm IHL Consulting Group, sales of the last-minute items have plummeted.
From 2004 to 2005, sales scanned at the self-checkout registers rose 35 percent to $111 billion. But in that time, impulse purchases by women decreased 50 percent when they used the self-checkout, and men made last-minute grabs 28 percent less.
Some retailers are responding to the drop in sales by stocking impulse items in the self-checkout areas, too. The Atlanta-based Home Depot started selling candy at all checkout stations, including the do-it-yourself ones.
Kroger also has begun putting up product displays at self-checkouts.
But even placing candy bars and magazines next to the self-checkouts might not turn the trend around.
“Folks have more on their minds at the self-checkout,” said Jerry Sheldon, vice president of technology at Tennessee-based IHL.
“The machine is barking orders at them, and people take it personally. They don’t want to make a mistake, especially in front of the other shoppers waiting in line.”
IHL surveyed 533 consumers for the report.
2 Comments
However, without the scan-it yourself option, I would never shop at Kroeger. It’s the ability to make it totally through the shopping process without having to talk to a person that attracts me to the store in the first place.
While I’m a little uncomfortable with Karen’s resistance to human interaction, I do agree that U-Scan makes my Kroger shopping experience all the more pleasant. I’m probably in Kroger two or three times a week, and use the U-Scan almost exclusively. It’s quick, convenient, and with the exception of an occasional human error (I left one of my bags of groceries last week), works very well. If you don’t mind bagging your own groceries, or, like Karen, prefer not to have to deal with the verbal burdens of “hi, how are you?” and “thank you, have a nice day,” then U-Scan is the way to go.