News

Some supermarkets rethink self-checkout

July 10, 2011

Ten years after its introduction, some grocery chains are beginning to replace DIY checkout lanes with speedier or more customer service-oriented formats, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News.

Beginning this month, Albertsons is removing self-checkout lanes from all of its 217 stores in seven states. The chain will revert to staffed checkout lanes with more lanes open during peak shopping hours. "Our customers are our highest priority and we want to provide them with an excellent experience from the time they park their car to when they leave," spokeswoman Christine Wilcox said in the story.

As it remodels stores, Kroger is considering the metro or European style of checkout lanes instead of self-checkouts. This format queues customers in one line that feeds into multiple staffed express lanes. Whole Foods Market also uses metro lanes, which move faster because customers don't get stuck in slow lanes or behind someone having trouble with self-checkout.

Metro lanes move three times faster than traditional express lanes, Kroger spokesman Gary Huddleston said. The average wait time for customers who use metro lanes is 5 to 20 seconds, he said.