Has Morrisons made the case for ‘chatty checkouts’?

The dedicated tills offer customers “the chance to spend a little more time” at the checkout “to enjoy a light-hearted or meaningful conversation with colleagues”. The aim is simple: to “combat loneliness”.

But will the initiative make any difference to those it sets out to help or is it just a feelgood Christmas gimmick? And what are the potential benefits and costs to supermarkets of the concept?

The scheme, says Morrisons corporate affairs director David Scott, is “designed to create space for those meaningful moments, offering customers the chance to slow down and chat if they’d like to”.

According to Age UK research, around a million older people feel more isolated at Christmas than any other time of year.

“Self-service checkouts work well for many shoppers, but for some older people a friendly chat at the till might be the only conversation they have all day,” says Ruth Lowe, head of loneliness services at the charity.

“Supermarkets are places where moments of connection naturally happen and initiatives like this can help make a genuine difference during what is going to be a long and difficult winter for many older people,” she adds.

Kim Samuel, founder of social isolation non-profit Belonging Forum, agrees. “For older people and customers with disabilities, many of whom are disproportionately affected by social isolation, a warm exchange at the till can offer a meaningful moment of connection, especially during the festive season,” she says.

Morrisons’ scheme is already over – having lasted for only four days. That’s led to some criticism online that it was little more than a PR stunt.

Samuel thinks this is unfair. “Talking Tills may be small in scale, but they speak to something much bigger,” she says. Likewise, Lowe argues the tills “may have only run for a short period of time, but it is a powerful reminder of how meaningful a simple interaction can be for many older people, particularly at this time of year”.

So could and should supermarkets take the concept further?

In 2019, Dutch supermarket Jumbo trialled a Kletskassa, or chat checkout at a single store. They proved so popular it’s since rolled them out to 200 locations. “As a family business and supermarket chain, we are at the heart of society,” the supermarket says.

If any UK supermarket were best placed to roll the concept out further, it would be Morrisons – which over-indexes in two-person households and elderly shoppers. CEO Rami Batieh has already been moving to put more staffed tills back into stores, after admitting last year that Morrisons “went too far” on self-checkouts.

A survey by Belonging Forum earlier this year found three in five respondents said they were more likely to return to shops where they can interact with a staff member. And 44% said they would be more likely to revisit a shop where staff engage in conversations beyond typical supermarket and shopping topics.

But not everyone is keen. Some 43% of Brits supported the chatty checkout concept, dropping to 34% when participants were told this could reduce the number of regular tills.

Providing the proper resource for slower checkout lanes is crucial to their success. In online forums, some Morrisons staff bemoaned the extra pressure the scheme brings.

“What a load of rubbish. It’s coming up to Christmas, let’s make the tills slower - brilliant management,” one posted.

“Will they be providing extra hours for this? Or expecting staff to run around doing all their other jobs as well as having extended conversation with customers,” wrote another.

However, Samual argues there is commercial value for supermarkets in it which goes beyond Christmas.

“As automation accelerates and staffing becomes harder to sustain, supermarkets remain one of the few places where people of all ages and backgrounds naturally cross paths,” she says.

“That gives retailers a powerful opportunity to help rebuild social connection. Offering a choice between automated, staffed and chatty checkouts offer a commercial a win-win: they support the bottom line while positioning supermarkets as genuine community builders.”

Talking Tills will inevitably have lower sales throughput and may mean longer queues and additional staff hours. But for some shoppers they may also be a reason to choose a supermarket.