Technology

Enhancing customer experience through faster checkouts

Given technological advancements in RFID and computer vision, retail store lines are preventable.

Photo: Adobe Stock

June 18, 2024 | Joseph Schlossberg, VP of global sales, Sourcing Solutions International

According to one study, 77% of customers will avoid going to a store where they have previously had a long wait at the checkout. How long is long? American consumers abandon lines after eight minutes.

British customers are even more impatient, leaving after only six minutes. Another study found when customers leave a store, 40% either patronize a rival business or quit shopping altogether.

What if there was a way to ensure customers don't face long queues at your cash registers? With today's technology, there is. Radio Frequency Identification and other cutting-edge technologies can streamline the checkout experience.

How RFID makes checkouts faster

RFID tags consist of a microchip and antenna that send radio signals to a receiver. When these tags are attached to products or their packaging, items no longer need to be scanned manually. The receiver can register the radio signals for large numbers of items literally at the speed of sound, meaning the RFID reader can identify multiple items simultaneously while they are still in shoppers' carts.

Cashiers or customers at the self-help machines no longer need to unload their carts, search for barcodes on the packaging, and position products at just the right angle for the scanner to read them. They also don't need to scan the item again and again until the system finally registers it, or call a manager or representative over to the machine to nullify an item because it was counted too many times.

In this way, RFID allows for much faster and more efficient checkouts, allowing customers to move through the process in a fraction of the amount of time that manual checkouts take. As a result, lines stream toward the goal when they form at all. Meanwhile, cashiers can handle a much larger volume of transactions without strain.

Additionally, when checkouts are RFID-enabled, they are also more accurate because the likelihood of human error decreases, and customers are assured of being charged correctly. This saves them from having to visit customer service or return to the store to rectify mistakes and builds their confidence in the retailer.

How RFID makes pricing more transparent, dynamic

Another common headache during the checkout process is items that don't have a barcode or price tag. When this happens, retailers often do price checks, a lengthy and time-consuming procedure in which an employee has to visit the shelf physically and read the posted pricing information.

When products have RFID tags, however, point-of-sale systems can automatically retrieve and display accurate prices. Customers don't have to stand around at the checkout while someone goes to verify the price of a product and the other customers in line roll their eyes. This level of transparency about pricing promotes customers' satisfaction with the shopping experience.

Moreover, RFID systems can automatically update pricing changes in real time. Retailers can assign new prices without having to go through the laborious process of labeling each item with new price tags. Empowered to adjust prices according to conditions on the ground, stores can adjust their prices based on demand, the time of day, or remaining levels of inventory. Since RFID systems also provide detailed data on sales patterns, demand, and inventory levels in real time, retailers can even implement dynamic pricing algorithms that automatically optimize prices based on certain criteria. Smart pricing like this makes more money flow in.

Another promising technology that can accelerate the checkout process is computer vision.

How computer vision speeds up checkouts

Computer vision relies on cameras placed strategically throughout a store. Advanced algorithms analyze the size, shape, color, and other visual characteristics of the items in customers' carts to identify them and their respective prices in real time as the shopper approaches the checkout area.

As with RFID, computer vision eliminates the need to place items on a conveyor belt, scan them manually, and process the whole cart at once. Something computer vision can do that RFID hasn't been able to do, however, is automatically verifying customers' age for restricted products like alcohol. These advances speed up checkouts substantially and decrease lines at the cash register.

Computer vision can also spot and flag potential problems, such as missing or misplaced items on shelves, so stockers can fix issues as soon as they appear. This not only ensures an orderly store appearance but also leverages every possibility of putting merchandise within customers' reach so they can find what they want and enjoy a well-maintained store.

Improve the retail customer experience

According to a recent study, customers associate waiting in line with feeling bored, annoyed, and frustrated, with 57 percent of survey respondents describing waiting in line as a waste of time. Over 33 percent said that having to wait in line decreases their satisfaction with a store.

In today's fast-paced retail environment, stores can't afford to hemorrhage business due to long wait times. Given technological advancements in RFID and computer vision, lines are preventable. Implementing these solutions is key to improving the retail customer experience.