When it comes to shoppers’ preferences for paying for basket-sized grocery shopping, almost 2 in 3 (64%) shoppers prefer to use self-service checkouts over cashier checkouts. Recent research on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+, sought to understand why there is a such a strong preference for self-service checkouts and the opportunity for future growth of self-service checkouts in-store.
The preference for self-service checkouts is driven primarily by those aged under 35, where some 8 in 10 (81%) would opt for this type of checkout, when presented with the choice. Dublin residents (74%) are also more likely to prefer self-service checkouts. Those more in favour of cashier checkout are more likely to be aged over 55 years of age (50%).
Key drivers for the preference of self-service checkouts include the time-savings experienced by shoppers, as well as their ease of use. Just over 6 in 10 (63%) who prefer self-service checkouts, do so because of the smaller queues experienced, with almost 6 in 10 (58%) claiming they prefer self-service checkouts because the queue moves faster than cashier checkout queues. Almost 1 in 5 (19%) claim the general ease of use of self-service checkouts when not paying cash, is a motivation in their usage. Almost a quarter (24%), claim they would prefer to use self-service checkouts but they are not available in the stores they frequently shop in.
Despite widespread usage, with almost 8 in 10 (78%) shoppers having used a self-service checkout previously, there appears to be scope for retailers to increase their usage amongst shoppers. Almost 4 in 10 (39%) shoppers who prefer a cashier checkout instead of a self-service checkout currently, do so because they find self-service checkouts difficult to use, suggesting education and demonstrations could lead to higher levels of repeat usage among these reluctant shoppers.
For more information and in-depth analysis relating to this piece of research, including preferences for self-service checkout across different retailers, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
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