Re:The failure of self-checkout technology
by HPsquared on Wednesday January 17, 2024 @07:59AM
(#39027045)
The big supermarkets in the UK have a "scan as you shop" system. There is a portable scanner you take along with the trolley and scan each item as you put it in the trolley (directly into a bag - avoiding the bagging step).
You then just go to the self-checkout and pay for what you scanned.
They do spot checks at the checkout, especially for "new" customers. It's tied to your identity (need to scan a store card to unlock the scanner).
I think it's a timesaver... even though it takes a bit of time to scan each item with the portable scanner, you get to skip the "unload from trolley -> scan -> load into bags" at the checkout.
Re:The failure of self-checkout technology
by DanielHB on Wednesday January 17, 2024 @08:57AM
(#39027703)
yeah that is the case in Sweden as well, but you can also scan at checkout if you want. The random checks are the same for either, but there is no weight system or cameras or rfid or anything else besides the random checks to prevent theft
Re:The failure of self-checkout technology
by bee_rider on Wednesday January 17, 2024 @09:22AM
(#39028042)
We have that in some chains in the US. Stop and Shop, for example. It is much better.
I think it is not as popular in some areas of the US because some parts of the country have very low trust.
The supermarkets in Sweden work like this, the only thing some of they do is random checks. In some chains you do need to sign up with your ID ahead of time though so they keep track if you get caught in a random check.