How are UK retailers minding the gap of checkout-free stores?
New tech in retail doesn’t get bigger than the switch to ‘Pick & Go Stores’ originally introduced by Amazon and now also being trialled by top UK grocery players including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Aldi.
Ultising QR codes that consumers scan on entering and leaving the store, this Amazon flagship technology registers what consumers are picking up, putting back, and ultimately leaving with, enabling a convenient and responsive shopping experience that, in theory, doesn’t even require difficult technological handling to get right.
The speed with which this tech is being replicated and implemented across the grocery industry, in particular, right now is a testament to the fact that it offers a lot of benefits.
However, as is always the case with a major shift in shopping habits, there is plenty of opposition to potentially stop Pick & Go from getting truly off the ground.
Much like self-scan technology, the fact that this change to automation threatens to result in job losses as high as 65% makes some resistance inevitable, especially as consumers approach such an extreme step away from shopping as normal with general scepticism.
However, Amazon’s success in this area, particularly across multiple sites in America, is proof that Pick & Go done right can work for everyone. In this article, we consider just a few of the ways that UK retailers are currently working to bridge the gap and make that possible.
# 1 - Choosing location wisely
The convenience of check-out free shopping largely speaks for itself in city centres where otherwise inevitably long queues could altogether prevent convenience, but retail experts are all too aware that speed isn’t the aim of the game in all possible locations.
Hence why industry frontrunners like independent retail expert Claire Bailey highlight the need for selective deployment.
Top stores understand this all too well, which is why small-town stores where consumers value personal interactions and leisurely experiences are unlikely to switch to altogether automated processes.
By comparison, inner city stores that have long been the culprit of long wait times and ultimately lost custom provide a far more tempting option for this shift in general, and are likely to become increasingly automated over coming years if trials prove successful.
The important thing is that retailers continue to take each case on a store-by-store basis, conducting ample studies into the habits and preferences of shoppers so that they don’t risk losing money rather than making it with this undeniably extreme tech shift.
# 2 - A focus on specialised skills
Job losses are inevitable as checkout operators become obsolete in automated stores, but it is still possible for retailers to do their best by hiring employees that make a difference.
Grocery stores famed as an option for easy employment can especially use this shift to employ more specialised individuals who can dedicate their skills towards improving consumer experiences and reputation overall.
Most notably, this becomes prevalent in the use of technology itself, where the need for ongoing maintenance, as well as the installation of cameras, sensors, and so on in the first place, will require a team of tech experts that stores have never before needed, thus creating jobs rather than removing them.
Equally, the stripped-back focus on quality experiences in these stores highlights the need for designers employed to perfect layouts that are as convenient as technology itself, as well as building maintenance services that can take care of even small details like glass polishing and airflow to make convenient stores as appealing and comfortable as possible.
The ability to redistribute experienced grocery store staff to other stores across the country also provides a fantastic way for retailers to avoid reputational damage.
While it might not always be possible, offering the option of transfer to other nearby stores or those in neighbouring towns will certainly show an extra level of care, as well as saving on things like training costs for entirely new groups of staff in every check-out-led environment.
# 3 - Help for people who need it
Perhaps the most pressing concern of this shift for retailers and their consumers is a fear surrounding the removal of human assistance.
Certainly, small retailers continue to point out the fact that their consumers value the ease offered by face-to-face assistance that provides immediate answers and a human touch.
Stores that largely do away with the need for staff are at risk of forgetting this importance, but an awareness of the issue and the right ways to tackle it can still help to provide experiences that all consumers can appreciate.
Avoiding performance gaps in flagship checkout-free stores especially relies on the ability of our favourite grocers to still provide human assistance for those who need it, a goal that shouldn’t be overly difficult to achieve considering that admittedly minimised sets of staff are still necessary for general oversight and stock maintenance, etc.
This is something we’re luckily already seeing, with Tesco’s recent High Holborn check-out free store continuing to employ 22 members of staff, any of whom can help consumers who are either new to the experience or experiencing inevitable technical difficulties due to the recent nature of this shift.
# 4 - Security precautions
While the risk of theft is significantly less in stores that use weighted shelves, cameras, and sensors to account for every item consumers pick up or put away, security concerns regarding consumer data have still been flagged with regards to checkout-free experiences.
The need to download apps and scan barcodes have certainly led to inevitable questions surrounding data handling and protections being put in place to prevent breaches.
Luckily, most experts predict that this shouldn’t be an issue, which is hardly surprising considering that our retailers have long been adapting to app security, data privacy surrounding loyalty schemes, and a lot more besides.
While it is therefore necessary to put precautions in place, large-scale grocers, in particular, already have reliable, tried and tested techniques for keeping consumers protected, regardless of what they’re sharing or how often they’re accessing tech-led sites.
# 5 - A gradual shift
Lastly, retailers also need to be aware that the sudden removal of all check-out stores in even city locations will only worsen opposition against this shift, resulting in consumers who switch to competitors rather than allowing themselves to be shoe-horned into convenience.
To be successful, checkout-free adjustments must therefore be a gradual change, hence why right now, even frontrunners like Amazon are taking baby steps towards rolling these stores out across the UK.
Certainly, the success of current trials can help to sell this retail model so that people will be far more likely to try a similar store near them.
But, while this tech is still new to these shores and largely untested on UK consumers, less will inevitably continue to be more. In light of this, even experts predict that it will be a good few years, if ever, before checkout-free shopping outstrips a more traditional experience.
Final word
As the largest technological leap that supermarkets have experienced since they became shopping staples in the mid-20th century, checkout-free stores provide an undeniably exciting opportunity to step into a new age of convenience.
However, as creatures of understandable habit, consumers are unlikely to invest their time into this shift without first being led over the gap between this and the traditional experiences they know.
Grocers are working hard to make that happen, but only time will tell whether they’re able to mind the gap enough to see even sceptical shoppers making this shift.
