Despite its age and ubiquity, self-checkout technology remains controversial. Our survey reveals what shoppers really make of them, as we look to an even more high-tech future
Nearly 30 years after the technology first made its debut, self-checkout machines remain hugely contentious. In 2022, a petition to stop Tesco ditching checkout operators in favour of machines gained almost 250,000 signatures.
But whether customers love them or hate them, one thing’s for sure: they’re not going away. In fact, since that campaign launched the pace of change has, if anything, increased. And supermarket bosses have been unapologetic about it.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts insisted the rollout of self-checkouts was essential to keeping costs down. “As an industry, we can’t say we can’t become more efficient. In a 3% margin business, with the cost pressures we face, we have to find efficiencies,” he told The Grocer last year.
Even Lidl begun introducing self-checkouts to its standard store formats in November. The discounter had previously rolled out the technology only in its smaller, urban stores and relied on staffed checkouts – notorious for their high-speed scanning – elsewhere in its estate.
On the other hand, their increasing ubiquity is causing no little disquiet. Some supermarkets have acknowledged the deployment of self-checkouts has been overdone. In August, as frustrations reached fever pitch, Asda admitted it had reached a ceiling with its own rollout of self-service tills, pledging to invest additional hours into manned checkouts.
“From time to time it’s right to stand back and reassess,” chief financial officer Michael Gleeson told The Grocer. “What we’re not doing is changing the mix between manned, scan & go and self-checkouts – we will simply be manning more of the already available manned checkouts for longer. We will always respond to what customers say and this is an investment to man the checkouts we already have.”
Later in August, Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh said the grocer was “reviewing the balance between self-checkouts and manned tills”, with some stores seeing a scale-back of the former.
“Morrisons went a bit too far with the self-checkout,” he told The Telegraph. “This had the advantage of driving some productivity. However, some shoppers dislike it.”
There’s even the suggestion self-checkouts are causing societal harm, and that their virulent adoption is a negative force for certain groups.
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Kim Samuel, founder of the Belonging Forum, a group aiming to address social isolation, says the “rapid rise of self-service has dehumanised our supermarkets and our high streets, with social consequences we’re only beginning to understand. And older people have been disproportionately impacted,” she adds.
“Small, everyday interactions – whether a kind word at the till or simply sharing a joke – are vital for building social connection. A conversation at a supermarket checkout could be the only meaningful interaction older people in particular have all day.”
Exclusive research
So, what do shoppers really think about self-checkouts? What are the pros and cons? And how are these automated machines – and the ways shoppers use them – evolving?
The Grocer commissioned exclusive research from Toluna & Harris Interactive to find out the answers to these questions and more. And its national representative sample of over 1,000 self-checkout shoppers found that use of self-checkouts has become unavoidable when shopping in store, with 100% of shoppers saying they had used one in the past six months, compared with 72% who had used manned checkouts.
If that’s perhaps predictable given that most shoppers will frequently pop in for one or two items – and thus prize the speed offered by self-checkouts – what might be more unexpected is that a lot of shoppers actually prefer them, with 54% choosing self-checkouts as their preferred option when buying groceries, versus 30% who like staffed checkouts and 16% who have no preference.
It’s a finding at odds with the picture often presented in the media, which consistently presents self-checkout machines as an innovation to be endured, a feature of modern shopping to be forced on to an unsuspecting and displeased public by greedy supermarket bosses.
Indeed, when The Grocer asked shoppers how they felt about the number of self-checkouts available in their regular supermarket, far and away the most popular response was “the right amount”, with 67%. Just 17% felt there was too many. And 16% said there weren’t enough!
However, there are caveats, and digging into the data shows usage is highly variable and can be dependent on a range of in-store situations. For example, only 20% of shoppers use self-checkouts every time, with a further 50% using them most of the time. That leaves more than a quarter of shoppers for whom self-checkouts are still not the go-to option.
Usage was also heavily tied to shopping occasion – and unsurprisingly, the fewer items a shopper has, the more likely they are to turn to self-checkouts.
When carrying out a top-up shop, 79% of respondents said they used self-checkouts, compared with 58% for medium-sized shops and just 32% when doing a large/weekly shop.
Indeed, the number of items a shopper is buying is the second-most important factor when deciding whether to use a self-checkout (42%). This was just edged out by whether the staffed checkouts are too busy (43%), which is the single most important consideration influencing usage of self-checkouts. Other important factors included the shopper being in a hurry (38%), a personal preference for self-checkouts (33%) and no staffed checkouts being open (31%).
Alienating shoppers
“It’s critical supermarkets to prioritise offering shoppers a choice,” says Patrick Young, managing director at behavioural insights consultancy PRS In Vivo, which works with the likes of Holland & Barrett, Carrefour and several major fmcgs. “Self-checkouts work well when positioned as an option, especially for those with smaller baskets. However, removing or significantly reducing manned checkouts forces a one-size-fits-all approach that alienates many shoppers.
“It’s reminiscent of how restaurants introduced QR code menus during the Covid lockdowns but never reverted to traditional table service. Such forced changes can lead to frustration and diminish the shopping experience.”
Self-checkout machines are highly sophisticated these days, but there are still regular – and irregular – issues thrown up by the technology. While loyalty cards have been assimilated relatively seamlessly, the ability to handle vouchers or coupons is a consideration for 14% of shoppers, and 9% said that having manually discounted items in their basket might prompt them to use a checkout operator. But concerns over additional checks and permissions have relatively little impact on whether shoppers use self-checkouts.
There is also widespread acknowledgement that self-checkouts offer distinct advantages. The most obvious is speed, with 56% of shoppers citing the faster process as an advantage over the more traditional staffed checkout. A large number also like the flexibility and freedom of being able to scan through their own items, with the ability to go at their own pace the second-most popular advantage (52%).
Shorter queues was also a popular answer (49%), while the more misanthropic shopper was seemingly strongly represented in our survey, with ‘not having to talk anyone’ also to the fore (29%) as an advantage to self-checkouts, alongside having “more privacy” (22%). Only 7% considered the possibility that SCOMs might actually lead to lower prices.
But of course, shoppers are no fools – they are well aware there’s also a business prerogative behind the supermarkets’ proliferation of self-checkouts.
When asked why they think self-checkout numbers are increasing, 69% answered that it’s to save money. The next most-popular answer was to reduce queueing times (45%), which works to the advantage of both shopper and retailer. And another underacknowleged benefit is that shoppers also value the ability to go at their own pace.
Saving space (23%) wasn’t seen as quite as important, though in reality utilising the space saved for other sales, such as seasonal, can be a key part of store layout overhauls. Above all it means more tills: up to three for every manned checkout. Even back in 2022, an industry source revealed to The Grocer that about 80% of sales in a typical supermarket now go through self-checkouts – a figure that seems likely to have only grown since.
As sales through self-checkouts have grown, however, so has crime. Self-checkouts are an increasing magnet for thieves. According to our survey, only 63% of shoppers “never” fail to scan an item at self-checkouts – leaving almost 40% of shoppers who do so at least occasionally. The numbers are similar for those who input incorrect loose items or incorrectly weigh loose items.
“Self-checkouts have been a game-changer,” says Matt Hopkins, an associate professor in criminology at the University of Leicester. “Customers are now in control of that final transaction. It’s creating opportunities for frustration and irritation. But supermarkets are putting so much trust in customers that, actually, you’re [also] creating an opportunity for that trust to be abused.”
Sometimes the hacks are more sophisticated. In 2024, Sainsbury’s saw a surge of TikTok-driven fraud, in which reusable money-off coupons were used to reduce basket bills to practically zero. The episode prompted the grocer to introduce new anti-fraud measures, which only ramped up existing friction at the tills, as consumers using coupons were required to wait for a member of staff. Sainsbury’s brought in “improved” anti-fraud measures in December after its attempts to tackle suspect coupons caused shoppers at the tills to complain.
For a long time, complaining about self-checkouts seemed to be one of the nation’s favourite pastimes. But people recognise that the technology has improved: 59% of shoppers say it’s now significantly better or somewhat better than when they first started using self-checkouts.
As a result, jokes about ‘unexpected items in shopping basket’ have given way to a more nuanced response, in which shoppers not only appreciate the role of self-checkouts but feel they are able to distinguish between the different retailers – even different machines (see box, p27).
Overall, 71% of shoppers agree that some supermarkets have better self-checkout machines than others. And the same percentage say different branches of the same stores manage self-checkouts better, underscoring the importance of customer support.
When asked to name which supermarket has the best self-checkout service, the top three retailers were Tesco (24%), Sainsbury’s (15%) and Asda (12%) – though of course, this appears linked to the relative popularity of these retailers. Shoppers were also more circumspect when asked which supermarket has the worst self-checkout service, with don’t know comfortably the most popular response (41%) and no retailer receiving more than 9%.
However, while the technology has improved along with general attitudes and acceptance, it would be disingenuous to paint a picture of wall-to-wall satisfaction with self-checkouts. Shoppers reported they still come up against plenty of glitches and other issues during the process – and most of us are accustomed to the sight of flustered and frustrated customers wildly waving arms and casting unforgiving eyes around the self-checkout area in a bid to attract the attention of a (usually very overworked) shop assistant.
Only 15% of shoppers reported never getting the dreaded ‘unexpected item’ messaging, while 16% said they rarely came across it – leaving almost 70% who encounter it with some regularity.
Another source of frustration that any self-checkout user will recognise is barcodes not scanning – often a problem on bagged items such as salad and other fruit & vegetables.
“It can happen for a number of reasons, says Jim Banks, head of user experience at Cheil UK. “Sometimes it’s the shopper’s fault, but often it’s because of incorrect weight data or a misbehaving scale. It’s a pain point that every shopper can relate to.”
Just 14% of shoppers said they never experienced this issue and over half said it happens sometimes, often or always.
Almost a third of shoppers reported sometimes having issues with coupons or vouchers; a further 11% said they often had that problem. And even as we march inexorably towards a cashless society, a majority of shoppers (55%) still consider self-checkouts not accepting cash to be a problem (see box, p29).
While shoppers were quick to point out the advantages of using self-checkouts, there was also a long list of gripes when they were asked to name the disadvantages.
Less-cited frustrations included long queues (16%), being difficult to operate (16%) and – in stark contrast to the 29% of shoppers who saw not having to talk to anyone as an advantage – self-checkouts feeling impersonal (20%).
By far the biggest disadvantage was technical issues with the machines (62%). “Another classic gripe is when some systems default to cash payment, even though most shoppers are using cards or mobile payments these days,” notes Banks. “It’s frustrating for customers, because it feels like the system just doesn’t understand what they actually want. It adds an unnecessary step and doesn’t match up with how we shop in 2025.”
But just as important is poor customer service: almost half of shoppers (48%) felt the speed of service when encountering problems is lacking. And almost a third (31%) voiced frustration that self-checkouts do not provide enough space, whether for their trolleys, packing or their shopping in general.
As Lucia Juliano, head of research at Toluna & Harris Interactive says: “Retailers need to ensure the tech is spotless, the space is ample and store staff are quick to intervene when needed – nearly half of self-checkout users believe more store staff are needed to smooth the way for shoppers. Ensuring the process is smooth, simple and speedy is fast becoming a hygiene factor for supermarkets.
The management of and customer service around self-checkouts is also a frequent talking point for shoppers of all stripes. Almost half find service too slow when they have a problem and there are often concerns over the number of staff on hand to deal with such issues.
This can, of course, vary greatly depending on supermarket brand, as well as store by store. “Not all self-checkout experiences are equal,” says Juliano. But there is almost an even split between shoppers who feel the number of staff available to help at self-checkouts is about right (51%) and those who think there aren’t enough (45%).
Many retailers have increased customer support in the self-checkout areas and as well as rowing back, some have documented their commitments. In response to frustrations over service levels, Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts vowed last April to have at least one staffed checkout open at all times. And in November, Waitrose promised its shoppers they would “always” have the option to use a manned checkout if they wished to do so, with new signs appearing in a number of their recently refitted stores that put the promise in black and white, with customers urged to simply ask a member of staff if they can’t spot a manned checkout open. Booths has gone one step further, of course, with MD Nigel Murray vowing to rip them out, as The Grocer revealed in November 2023.
But at the same time, most supermarkets are also doubling down on new and better self-checkout technology. The biggest area of focus in recent times has been self-checkouts that can better accommodate ‘big shops’. In October, Sainsbury’s announced it was trialling a “completely new generation” of hybrid self-checkouts that combine traditional belt checkouts with self-scan systems.
The arrival of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, along with competitor versions – which enable shoppers to simply take items from shelves and leave a store – seemed to number the days of the checkout. But the technology – involving banks of cameras on the ceiling, computer vision to analyse shopper movements and weighted shelves – hasn’t had quite the impact predicted.
After initially heralding it as a development that would “push the state of the art forward” to “reimagine the in-store shopping experience” and “redefine retail”, last summer Amazon moved to strip the tech out of its US stores. As then global grocery stores chief at Amazon, Tony Hoggett, who led the move, told The Grocer in 2023: “Not everything you do in grocery needs reinventing.”
The supermarkets that rolled out the technology – among them Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Aldi, have slowed or halted further implementations. Its real promise appears limited to specific situations with bursts of demand like stadiums, hospitals and conference centres, or much smaller format stores. This tallies with only 13% of shoppers having used the technology, compared with the much healthier 40% who have self-scanned using an in-store handset, and the 26% who self-scanned using an app.
At superstore scale, the self-checkout perseveres. And experimentation and innovation continues. On the software side, self-checkout provider NCR is using in-built cameras and computer vision to recognise items – particularly fresh produce, which is “often seen as a complicating factor” – to speed up the checkout process. The system can recognise the colour and shape of the fruit or vegetable to serve up a shortlist of probable items to select on screen. “This simplifies the checkout process for customers while minimising the need for staff intervention in correcting mislabelled fresh items,” the company says.
There’s also the emergence of checkouts where shoppers simply place their items down within a marked square – where they are recognised and tallied by AI – and then pay for their basket almost instantly. The solution is proving popular across Europe, the US and Australia – with leading provider Mashgin claiming its checkouts clocked up 440 million transactions at more than 4,000 locations last year.
Automation in age verification – a frequent blockage in the self-checkout process – is also advancing, and possible in an instant with a selfie. “The traditional manual method, which involves a store attendant visually checking identification, is often slow, error-prone and can result in negative customer experiences,” explains Robin Tombs, CEO of Yoti, whose tech was put through its paces by Morrisons, Co-op, Tesco and Asda in a 2023 Home Office-backed trial. “Facial age estimation is transforming the self-checkout experience,” he adds, “and is already being used successfully by numerous retailers abroad.”
Big is better
On the hardware side, supermarkets are testing out new formats of self-checkout for different-sized shops. In November, M&S revealed its rollout of ‘assisted belted checkouts’ aimed at a full trolley shop, which feature a conveyor belt. In October, Sainsbury’s began trialling a “completely new generation” of hybrid self-checkouts that combine traditional belt checkouts with self-scan systems, as part of its “mission-based” plan for future stores and to meet the needs of full trolley shoppers.
It appears to be a smart move, with large machines the most popular self-checkout feature or service among shoppers, with 55% of respondents having used them. It was a similar picture when shoppers were asked which feature they find or would find most useful, with 32% answering large self-checkout machines. The desire to be able to carry out a larger shop with ease also plays into more than half of shoppers (52%) saying they don’t think there should be a limit on the number of items someone can put through a self-checkout, while just over a third (34%) thought there should.
“Facial age estimation is transforming the self-checkout experience in numerous retailers”
Robin Tombs, CEO of Yoti
On social media, however, confusion reigns as to the problem they solve, how a solo shopper is supposed to operate them and how to cope when the next shopper in the queue starts loading their shopping on to the belt before an individual has packed their bags.
Some expect self-checkouts will become more mobile, with growth of scan as you shop. After all, if a shopper is checking out themselves, why not do so without having to queue, in their own space, and at their own pace?
“Self-checkouts generally provide a poor customer experience, and as retailers transition to more mature, omnichannel offerings, alongside increasing digital maturity and expectations amongst customers, we may see these systems disappear,” says Matt Hildon, retail portfolio director at Valtech, which has worked on tech rollouts for Tesco, M&S Food and Co-op.
In September, Morrisons began trialling scan and go handset technology, following Sainsbury’s Smartshop and Tesco’s Scan as You Shop, with the latter’s offering having been first introduced over 10 years ago. Of the shoppers in our survey, 26% say they find or would find the ability to self-scan and pay using handsets the most useful self-checkout feature, while 15% chose being able to self-scan and pay using an app.
As well as hand scanners or a shopper’s own phone, self-scan is also being integrated into shopping trolleys. Amazon’s latest ‘Dash Cart’ can even weigh fresh produce items while moving around a store.
Compared with Just Walk Out, “Smartshop scanners offer a more realistic step forward”, says Young. As well as “eliminating checkout time entirely” they “empower customers to manage their basket and budget in real time. The future may lie in technologies that remove checkouts altogether,” he adds. “Within a decade, we may see self-checkouts phased out as seamless, frictionless solutions take their place.”
More than ever, a positive self-checkout experience is crucial to keep customers happy – and coming back. As Banks puts it: “Ultimately, supermarkets that really listen to what users need and evolve their self-checkouts will undoubtedly win over more shoppers. These systems are here to stay, so it’s about time shoppers had a better, more seamless experience.”
Customer perceptions: more than just the tech
Given there are only two major suppliers of self-checkout machines – NCR and Diebold Nixdorf (DN) – why is there such variation in shopper experiences of self-checkouts?
According to our survey, Tesco machines were the runaway winners when shoppers were asked which supermarket offers the best experience.
Retailers do make choices in how theirs operate – the on-screen interface, where they’re placed, how they’re managed and how they’re configured.
“Not all self-checkouts are equal – the execution varies widely,” says Patrick Young, MD at behavioural insights company PRS In Vivo. “Design and functionality vary: some provide ample space for bagging, others include weight-based checks, and some feature better user interfaces or staffing support.
“These elements make a significant difference in how customers perceive and use self-checkouts.”
And the machines don’t exist in isolation. “In some stores, they are awkwardly placed next to manned checkouts, creating an inefficient and confusing environment,” Young continues. “Poor staffing compounds the problem, with long waits for age verifications or resolving ‘unexpected item’ errors. Security measures, such as gated exits or random bag checks, can further frustrate shoppers if handled poorly. ”
There is also inconsistency in the on-screen steps and physical set-up – be it when to scan a voucher or which side the basket is placed.
“On the physical side, there’s a lot to be said for layout consistency,” says Jim Banks, head of UX design at Cheil UK. “It’s surprisingly common for different self-checkouts, even within the same supermarket chain, to have different bagging areas or basket placements. It might sound like a small thing, but consistency across all machines would make for a smoother experience, and it could mean fewer frustrated customers.”
These pain points work to “draw attention to the technology’s shortcomings”, says Young. “It’s rarely the self-checkout itself that’s inherently flawed. Rather, it’s the lack of consideration for the overall environment and shopper context.”
There are also the seemingly minor choices retailers make, like whether the machines audibly ‘talk’ to customers and, if so, what tone and gender of voice they use.
“When customers hear the phrase ‘don’t forget to scan your card’ at least 20 times across various self-checkouts within five minutes, it’s annoying at best,” says Matt Hildon, retail portfolio director at Valtech. “No one needs to hear a robotic reminder that frequently.”
The nuances of self-checkouts make a huge difference, and it’s arguably the part of the shopping experience where loyal customers are won or lost. The psychological theory called ‘peak-end rule’ comes into play, says Amy Nichols, research director at human understanding agency Walnut Unlimited. The theory posits that people judge an overall experience by the most intense moment (the peak) and the final moment (the end).
“If self-checkouts work well, they can create a positive impression,” she says. “However, there are frequent moments of frustration with these checkouts – and we remember those and how they made us feel for quite a long time.”
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