ICA Gruppen’s Oskar Jakobsson talks in-store self-checkout systems benefits, drawbacks, and trends

Oskar Jakobsson, Director Customer Solutions at ICA Gruppen, has taken to social media to reflect on self-checkouts following some recent store tours.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “In today's fast paced retail environment, with customers more stressed than ever, self-checkout systems have become increasingly popular. These systems offer a range of benefits for both customers and staff, but they also come with their own set of challenges.”

The most obvious benefit, he noted, is that self-checkout provides a quicker and more convenient shopping experience, reducing friction. Customers can avoid long lines and have more control over their checkout process. This technology also enhances privacy, as people can scan and bag their items without the need for a cashier.

For retailers, self-checkout systems increase through put and reduce risk of cart abandonment. This can lead to labour cost savings or shifting labour to customer service, reduce repetitive and non-value adding task for staff so they can focus on customer service and brand building.

Additionally, self-checkout systems usually take up less space, especially in grocery stores, allowing for more checkout stations or more effective use of store space.

The technology is not, however, without its drawbacks. Jakobsson commented: “Technical glitches and system failures can frustrate customers, leading to a negative shopping experience. Some customers find them hard to understand and operate, and miss the human contact.”

“Moreover, self-checkout systems may not be as user-friendly for elderly or visually impaired customers, potentially making the checkout process more difficult for them. Additionally, there is the risk of increased theft, both intentional and accidental, which can lead to higher shrinkage rates and the need for more security measures.”

He added: “Trends wise you can see that the area has matured, and we now see some variants depending on the retail vertical. Fashion retailers now have adopted item level RFID tagging and therefore use that in their checkouts for a quick scan of the basket, reducing the time at the till even more.”

“Grocery has adopted hand scanners and now mobile scan; the more progressive ones are testing smart carts and camera solutions for grab n go/unmanned stores but still this hasn't scaled due to price and complexity. In smaller convenient store you can now see cheaper solutions where they put a screen, scanner and card terminal or a normal PoS setup but make it revolve, so when not manned the customer can self-scan.”

He concluded: “In my opinion self-checkouts still work best when you have customers with a fairly low number of items in their basket and as a complement to manned tills. Looking at newer M&S stores with high footfall and small basket size like Stratford mall, you can see double lines and double areas of self checkouts (around 50 tills in total) and two manned tills.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Self-checkouts were a key focus area at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, 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.