Tesco is removing most traditional checkouts from many of its larger stores as it moves towards more self-service tills, saying a “lack of customer demand” was allowing it to begin reducing the numbers available in-store. The move comes after a successful trial of larger self-serve checkouts designed for trolleys rather than baskets.
The bagging areas in the new self-service checkouts are three times longer than standard sizes, allowing up to six bags to be packed at once, making them more suitable for customers buying more goods for a weekly shop, although Tesco said that staff would always be on hand to help customers if they needed it.
“We are proud to offer customers choice when it comes to checkouts, and after successful trials we are introducing new trolley-accessible self-service checkouts in some of our stores, which have more room and are easier to use for larger shops,” a Tesco spokeswoman told The Grocer. “Our colleagues and the friendly service they provide are absolutely vital to our stores – they will always be on hand to help our customers, and will continue to operate attended checkouts so that customers can choose the option they prefer.”
Read more: Tesco self-serve tills come under fire as 218,000 sign petition
Grocery Insight CEO Steve Dresser told The Grocer the move was in-line with an trend for moving to focus on self-service checkouts, and said removing most of the manned tills would enable Tesco to put the space to better use. "There are savings to be made losing the manned checkouts, but the reality is, you rarely see checkouts open these days en masse anyway, so it’s underutilised space," he said. “It’s not always positive for customers, however, as some may feel forced into self-service options.”
The announcement comes as more than 230,000 people have signed a petition calling for the supermarket to stop adding the self-service checkouts to their stores. The petition, on change.org, was started by London customer Pat McCarthy earlier this year. Mrs McCarthy's petition argues that the tills – which are often card-only – are not accessible for many shoppers on a budget and also states that that older people and those with disabilities are less likely to be able to use self-checkouts and the lack of staffed tills was leading to long queues for those who couldn’t use the self-service tills.
Self-service tills were first introduced by Tesco in 2003, they have divided opinion, with some shoppers liking the idea of scanning and getting on their way while others bemoaning the loss of personal touch.
Tesco opened its first completely checkout-free store last October, where shoppers can pick up their groceries and pay without going to the tills. The trial store, called Tesco GetGo uses cameras to replace checkouts, with the technology designed to track items as shoppers place them in their baskets. Customers scan the Tesco app on their mobile phones as they enter the store, in Holborn, London, and are charged for the products once they have left the shop.
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