Five reasons why mobile self-checkout is retail's saving grace

Mobile self-checkout (or Scan & Go) is the process of customers using their mobile phones to scan items, pay directly from their device and then walk out the door.

Essentially paying for items without having to head to the counter. Often likened to online shopping, and a process we're all familiar with. It just makes sense, right?

So, why isn't it widely available?

For years, retailers have been scared to invest the necessary capital and resources to get a solution functional in their stores. Apart from it being a long and costly process, the results are relatively unknown and well... somewhat scary.

Mobile self-checkout solutions can be seen being leveraged by the following retailers:

Unfortunately, many other retailers haven't had the guts to put it into large-scale practice and, as a result, they, and our retail economy could soon be paying the price for the lack of digital transformation.

Over the years, a number of common concerns have been cited, such as: theft concerns, return on investment, and security

However, the common concerns of this technology no longer hold much weight. The economical and consumer conditions for its implementation are ideal, and those concerns have been solved over the years through the advancement of technology.

There is no questioning how much the retail landscape has changed throughout the pandemic, and how tough it has been on offline retail. We've seen in-store traffic metering, labour shortages both with retail staffing and development, as well as supply chain struggles.

However, even with the pandemic, offline shopping (bricks and mortar) is still the norm for shoppers, accounting for over 73% of all retail sales.

Now could be the greatest time to accelerate the widespread roll-out of mobile self-checkout for five key reasons:

#1 – It's safer for customers and staff members

Since the pandemic tore the world to shreds, we saw the introduction of traffic metering – the process of setting a maximum number of customers in-store at one time governed by state laws.

While this was effective for retailers, it still has significant problems from a public health standpoint. Namely, counters and checkout lanes are still quite risky for one big reason — contact.

Retail operations that require customers to go to the counter increase the points of contact between staff and customers; proximity in lines, point of sale interactions, and payment terminal processing.

These high touch and high volume areas increase retailers' susceptibility to health concerns should another pandemic arise.

Mobile self-checkout eliminates this issue entirely and completely removes the need for these high touch areas. The risk then falls back on customers in regards to their own personal choices and hygiene given they're in control of their own checkout experience.

Customers walk in-store, take out their phones, scan items and bag them as they shop, then present their QR digital receipt for scanning by a staff member either on the floor or on the door as they exit.

It’s an operational process ideal for employees and customers in a post-pandemic world where hygienic concerns are still greatly at large.

#2 – It requires less staff

One of the most pressing retail challenges at the moment is the critical labour shortage. In Australia alone, there are over 40,3000 vacant retail positions and that number is growing daily.

Retailers are resorting to creative marketing campaigns and exorbitant referral prices up to $10,000 to attract talent. Even McDonald's is feeling the pressure of the market, offering a $1,000 sign on bonus to successful candidates.

The talent market is at an all-time low.

According to Jeremy Neren, CEO at GrocerKey, a company that specialises in front-end e-commerce and back-of-house fulfilment solutions for grocers, grocers need to keep the labour issue top of mind.

“The complexity surrounding the labour situation has only increased,” Neren said.

The reality is that no one knows how long the situation will persist or if it will continue to worsen. The only sensible solution is to figure out how to continue to operate under the choke-hold of these challenges.

This is where mobile self-checkout offers the most value.

The technology allows a customer to shop on their own terms, and be in charge of their own checkout experience. In turn, this means processing a sale is no longer a one-to-one, staff-to-customer interaction.

It simply requires staff for product information, customer support, and receipt validation purposes.

Counter staff, as a result, can be redeployed to other operations within the store, like consultative selling, or inventory management. A shift of focus from administrative tasks to sales and experience-based tasks.

Paris Nicholson, a retail assistant at Sabo Skirt's Pacific Fair location noted that the introduction of TAGR's mobile self-checkout has allowed staff members to manage more customers through busy periods, without the need for additional staff members.

#3 – Theft concerns have been solved by technology and operations

If you have been to a Kmart or JB-Hi-Fi recently, you may have noticed some changes to their retail operations. Notably, staff members or security guards positioned at the entry/exit checking customer receipts.

This is a response to reduce the inflection point of the checkout and de-risk some of the current retail challenges. This simple operational change created room for technology solutions to thrive, and in turn, eliminates one of the main concerns of mobile self-checkout.

The process of a staff member or security guard scanning a digital receipt (QR code) takes a second or two in comparison to the average four-minute checkout time at the counter.

Secondary to the operational changes, there has been a significant advancement in retail technology which has helped squash some of the concerns about mobile self-checkout.

The acceleration toward environmentally friendly practices has seen the adoption of RFID security tagging at retailers such as UNIQLO, Zara, and H&M.

Bye bye bulky magnetic ink tags. Hello tech friendly, sustainable RFID stickers.

Not only are these programmable and able to be integrated with mobile self-checkout solutions for asset protection purposes, but they also provide automated inventory tracking opportunities, which otherwise proved to be a pain point for retail operations.

For context, small RFID stickers can be embedded into the pricing label and can easily be programmed to disable before exiting the store, after the customer has made the payment.

All without human intervention. In this scenario, an alarm would sound if the customer tried to exit the store without paying.

#4 – It's fast, easy, and affordable to implement

A few years ago, the conversation on whether or not to implement mobile self-checkout would be a simple one – "It's too expensive".

You had to either build something in-house or hire a third party to build it, both of which are expensive solutions when it comes to software development and integrations to payment providers, point of sale systems, ERPs, and more.

This does not even factor in the time it takes to build, and the focus it takes away from core business activities.

However, that is no longer the case with platforms such as TAGR.

A platform provider is a great way to implement mobile self-checkout in your retail stores with little effort, little time, and at a fraction of the cost.

Solution providers come with a comprehensive list of out-of-the-box features including integrations, payments, loyalty, security and so much more. For the first time ever, you can get a mobile self-checkout solution up and running in your store within days, rather than months.

TAGR offers unparalleled, award-winning software, staff training, and impeccable customer support as part of its service which can either be paid as you go (transactional) or licensed upfront.

Whatever is decided upon, mobile self-checkout is undoubtedly more accessible to retailers than ever before.

#5 – It's proven to improve conversions, spending, and customer experience

We have heard about mobile self-checkout from the retailer's perspective, but how about from the customer?

The technology is particularly favourable among a number of audiences including the Milleninal and Gen-Z generations. However, is loved by a range of customer demographics.

In the US alone, the Millennial and Gen-Z generations amount to over 51% of the entire US population. These generations are defined by their technological proficiencies and their access to instant services. Meaning time is of significant value.

Rachel Miles, a customer who used TAGR mobile self-checkout at the Crop Shop Boutique pop-up mentions the speed and ease of the solution.

Given the ease and speed of the technology, TAGR's mobile self-checkout has proven to increase conversions by 22%, increase the basket size by 25% and increase positive customer feedback by 33%.

Make it quick, easy, and enjoyable to buy, and the consumer will keep on coming back for more.

So, is mobile self-checkout on your radar? If not, should it be? Let us know in the comments section below.

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