Self-checkout failures: Vista Technology Support boss James Pepper talks poor Pull&Bear physical retail experience

2024 has seen a backlash against self-checkouts, with the likes of the BBC laying into the technology. But self-checkout isn't the problem; poor technology design and lack of user experience testing are. So says James Pepper, CEO at Vista Technology Support.

Responding to a RTIH Secret Shopper article, Pepper said in a LinkedIn post: "I recently visited Cardiff’s new Pull&Bear store for a spot of Christmas shopping and was looking forward to trying out their RFID self-checkouts."

"The first impressions of the store were very good, and the aesthetics and design were excellent. We selected a few items and made our way to the self-checkouts. This is where my inner geek took over, and I started to explain to my wife about all the different technology that was in use. Whilst she was initially impressed, after a short while (roughly around the time I got to explaining how the coin recyclers work), my wife had wandered off, leaving me to finish the transaction."

Pepper added: "I placed two jumpers into the RFID tray, and immediately the items were identified and displayed on the LED screen, which is hidden behind mirrored glass. That worked well in theory. I then noticed that one of the jumpers had been incorrectly identified as a pair of trousers. I moved checkouts (to see if the issue followed)."

"At self-checkout number two, I placed the items in the basket, and again trousers appeared. By this point, my wife was now interested again as the tech that I was telling her about clearly was not working. I called over an assistant and explained to them that the jumper had been incorrectly RFID tagged. After a few minutes of discussion, the assistant finally agreed and went off to find another jumper."

"Whilst waiting, I watched other shoppers all struggling to work out how to use various functions of the self-checkouts. A man on the next self-checkout was struggling to remove the tags off the garments he had bought, the lady to his right was poking the mirrored touchscreen glass with increasing ferocity, and another person on the end self-checkout looked completely perplexed."

"Anyway, have no fear, the assistant was back with a fresh jumper and tag. Into the basket it goes, and ping, it appears on screen. A cheeky smile to my wife (as she is clearly impressed). Just need to pay, or so I thought!"

The self-checkout then displayed a message about a receipt. However, the lights above the self-checkout were bright and the screen highly reflective that it was hard to read the on-screen instructions, and Pepper ended up selecting an email receipt through guesswork.

"Entering my email was just as much fun. Finally, all paid, receipt in inbox, now to de-tag. Easy on jumper number one, but jumper number two took a few attempts," he commented. "Whilst it is a great tech concept, the implementation is poor.”

“I saw a few customers give up and leave their goods as they simply could not work out how to use the systems. I am a big supporter of physical retail, but poor implementation and lack of user experience testing will only drive customers online."

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Vista Technology Support was among the finalists at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, sponsored by Scala, CADS, 3D Cloud, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended last month’s gathering.