It’s a Wednesday evening, and there’s a queue of people behind you as you scan through this week’s grocery shop.
The kids are tugging on your sleeves eager to tuck into the ice lollies you’ve just packed. But before you can tell them to wait just a minute, that all-too-familiar ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’ tone calls out.
Now you’re left frantically trying to flag down a free member of staff alongside the couple next to you whose potatoes won’t scan properly while the growing queue of shoppers waits impatiently.
It’s a scene that will resonate with many, however, it may become even more common after news broke that Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, is set to remove some manned checkouts from a raft of its larger stores in the coming weeks to be replaced with self-service.
The retailer said the move was due to a “lack of customer demand” for staffed checkouts, and said that trials of larger self-checkout areas specifically designed for trolleys rather than baskets had proved successful. Tesco also highlighted that all its stores would still have some manned checkouts, other than its checkout-free store in Holborn in London.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “Our colleagues and the friendly service they provide are absolutely vital to our stores and will always be on hand to help our customers, whether they are checking out at one of our colleague-operated or self-service checkouts.
“We first introduced self-service checkouts nearly 20 years ago to give our customers a choice and our stores have both types of checkout.”
Although the move towards self-service is no surprise as retailers across the spectrum turn to in-store automation to increase productivity and enhance the customer experience.
However, self-service tills are notorious for issues, with store staff frequently needing to address problems and overwrite the technology.
The decision has already sparked ire with many customers with hundreds taking to social media to air their frustrations.
One user said: “Tesco is screwed at Christmas – the amount of food waste is going to hit the roof because people will be so fed up they will abandon trolleys full of fresh produce and it will have to be wasted because of cold chain processes.”
Another added: “When they take away the till staff & then expect you to queue for a machine. That’s when I walk out & staff can put it back on the shelf. I won’t be rushing back. Much prefer dealing with staff.”
It’s not just a noisy few on social media. More than 230,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org calling on Tesco to stop adding more self-service checkouts and bring back staff.
Meanwhile, other critics of the move have raised concerns about job security for checkout staff who could find themselves replaced when the new store layout is completed.
Why is Tesco removing manned checkouts?
Tesco is not alone in its move to self-service, of course.
Sainsbury’s has also cleared out a number of its manned checkouts and replaced them with new self-service areas, while GlobalData global research director Patrick O’Brien highlights that a recent Lidl opening had almost 20 self-checkouts with just 2 manned tills.
The technology is not just limited to grocery. Just this week it emerged that Primark was trialing self-service in its stores in a bid to speed up the checkout process.
But why is Tesco making the move to reduce manned checkouts now?
Kantar senior commercial director of customer experience Chloe Woolger believes there are a number of reasons, including a stronger customer uptake.
Since Covid hit a lot of shoppers wanted to distance themselves from people and limit contact where possible and this behaviour has remained in place, she says.
The move also helps retailer overcome the challenge of trying to find talent right now, an issue that many retailers are struggling with as UK unemployment hits its lowest level since 1974.
Woolger says this will be particularly helpful as the retailer tries to hire seasonal works to help it cope with the Christmas peak.
There is another big factor: costs.
O’Brien says: “While the usual stated reason is to free up time for employees to provide more valuable services to customers, the reality is of course that supermarkets want to save costs, and as labour costs rise and the tech gets cheaper and more reliable, it becomes too enticing an option.”
Do shoppers prefer self-service over manned tills?
O’Brien points out that it has taken a long time for consumers to adapt to self-service, and he says this “not happened with any affection”.
“It is begrudging, and shoppers have been corralled into it, faced with the choice of a long queue for a manned till or an employee beckoning them towards the self-checkouts.”
But do shoppers now prefer doing it themselves?
Following the news of Tesco’s greater adoption of self-service, Retail Gazette asked our Linkedin community just this and after 800 votes the decision was split, with self-checkout narrowly winning, racking up 52% of the votes.
The Retail Mind director Ged Futter says its hard to tell what shoppers truly prefer, adding it all “depends on whether they work smoothly or not, customers want an easy shop without long queues, often this is not self-serve checkouts”.
When asked if the move will hit customer experience, Futter responds: “Of course it does,” admitting that he’s not sure that they can be avoided, “not without having more members of staff”.
Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies and deputy principal at the University of Stirling, says that although self-service tills have had their fair share of problems, the technology is more stable now and issues should be less regular moving forward.
“When they go wrong they are really frustrating to a customer, so it is up to the floor staff to sort issues quickly and try to ensure that the issues do not repeat. If it happens to the same customer again and again then the experience is clearly damaged.”
A particular concern lies with older shoppers. One in four over 70s said that self-checkouts put them off shopping altogether in a survey back in 2017.
Although some of those shoppers may have been converted to self scan during Covid, the unfamiliar technology will still be daunting for some older shoppers.
Not to mention that for some, the interaction at the till is an important part of their day.
One user aired their concerns on Twitter saying: “Apart from the fact there might be a family somewhere dependent on that job, a little friendly conversation at the checkout is sometimes the only interaction elderly or shy people get.”
Is this the end of the manned checkout?
With retailers across the spectrum facing the same challenges as Tesco in terms of rising costs and a talent shortage, expect more retailers to follow the grocer’s lead and introduce more self-service and automation into stores.
Does this mean that the manned checkout may become a thing of the past?
O’Brien believes so. “Eventually stores will do away with fixed manned checkouts entirely, to free up space for full-shop self-checkouts”, he says, although he points out that staff will still be on call to help those shoppers unable to operate them.
Sparks thinks there will be a balance but that the direction of change has been clear for some time.
“It will not be the end, but self-service is a clear trend,” he explains.”Tesco is the market leader and others will look at their moves very carefully. Not all will follow and not all will do the same, but the pressures on them are similar.”
The drive to self-service has been clear for some time but if retailers are to take greater strides towards self-service, they need make sure that it is as easy, fast and seamless as possible because if it isn’t – shoppers will air their grievances.
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Would be good if Tesco followed Sainsbury’s and had an option to scan shopping on your phone.
The Sainsbury’s Smart Shop app is very unreliable on my phone. Some stores require you to scan a QR code before you can, others the app knows where you are. Then there are things that don’t scan etc. The technology is not reliable yet to go full on automatic, although it will come. Uni Qlo self service is spot on.
Why, why, why?! I so feel for the till cashiers being out of work for not much reason. Surely we deserve the choice of a human against a machine, especially for the amount of money I alone spend with Tesco. But if Tesco won’t change then I will.
Same with us
It’s completely ludicrous for Tesco to say that they’re removing manned checkouts because customers prefer to do the checkout themselves. Like every other area of automation, it’s the corporates that have forced this moved, not the customers. It’s leading to a rapid decline in customer service. Self-checkouts are a nightmare are only efficient for small baskets.
Not true. I still need a staffed one as I messed up double swiping something overcharged in M&S near Euston. Never again. Those horrible self service I will ask the staff to do it for me. Also the cigarettes etc need tills..There’s only two manned tills but the self service should change to app.
People don’t and won’t use the self checkouts, I work a manned till, and the customer’s are telling us that they won’t use them and don’t like them, they prefer the manned tills and a chat with the staff.
and that is the problem you sit on your arse chatting instead of whisking them through aldi lidl style then going doing other stuff in your stuf ie pick fill serve
I will just stop shopping there,self service sucks!
Tesco saying customers prefer Self Service is utter nonsense. I worked for Tesco for 10 years before leaving last year to go to another retailer. I was a customer Service Manager and regularly dealt with complaints about “not enough mainbank tills”. This is all about cost cutting. The Poll which had Self Service winning at 52% doesn’t take into account a huge demographic. Elderly people who don’t have smart phones or any devices with Internet access. They will not use Self service. Tesco would be better served taking out the “Steal as you Shop” tills. Then again, if there weren’t so many thieves stealing thousands of £’s worth of stock a week, Tesco and other retailers might be able to budget for more real live staff. I left because I didn’t want to be one of the very few severely overworked managers they have left.
It’s okay removing manned checkouts and replacing them with self service ones, BUT, what about the staff who are getting verbal abuse from customers? I work for Tesco, in charge of checkouts and checkout staff as well as supervisors are getting verbal abuse on a hourly not a daily basis. Not much Du diligence there then.
I’m very reluctantly self scanning at Tesco in order to leave the few remaining manned tills for the people who can’t use self scan. There are customers who go to supermarkets several times a week so they can talk to the staff on the tills otherwise they would not talk to anyone for several days. Customers were NOT consulted about the chages! I don’t want any supermarket staff to lose their jobs due to self service.
Tech problems are an issue. I’ve had a scanner fail on me half way around the store. Today, my scanner kept telling me it couldn’t scan items unless I moved to another area in the shop!!
If the stores cannot be bothered to serve me I’ll go to my local corner shop , less choice more expensive but retain customer service
Well said.
Good!
Save the checkout
Seriously thinking of shopping elsewhere. The experience in my local tesco is awful.Queing down the Isles so that you can’t even do your shopping
If using self checkouts I receive the staff discount off my shopping then I will use them, but I doubt I’ll receive staff discount as a customer, then I definitely will not use self checkouts. I will also not be governed by a supermarket telling me as a customer how to shop.
I agree I’m 70. And would prefer manned checkout human contact not a machine where I’m having to wait for member of staff everytime something doesn’t scan or medical or its alcohol or something you have to look up from bakery or fresh vegetables also on manned checkout you have a conversation with staff help with packing please reconsider
I much prefer the scan and shop option and that checks out on the self service tills. Hated it the first couple of times but it’s brilliant now I’ve got used to it. I’m in my 60’s so you can teach an old dog new tricks saves so much time and it means there are more staff to stock up the shelves.
I spent 7 minutes waiting for a self device scanner because no staff and only one screen working plus person struggling to work it
all out then trolley self service area blocked off so had to go to basket self service till to pay for full trolley then had to have beer purchase approved so waited another five minutes for human being to be available to press button on screen whole thing sucks tesco bring back regular tills or will shop elsewhere customer choice give me a break!
I can’t use these proposed check out as I get a static shock from the screen and due to a medical condition it puts me flat on my back in the stores and I either go to a mannered check out or have to call for someone to process my shopping through one of these self check outs
How will self-service tills work if you only have a pull along shopper trolley and not bags to pack your shopping in? You can’t put that on the bagged area it will think it’s an “unexpected item in the baggage area”. I will still need manned till.
Definitely prefare manned tills I hate self service always having to ask for help from one of your staff you might as well put them on a till instead of the self service your still using them for self service so what’s the point
Definitely no to self service tills I for one never use them .
Tesco have said that there will still be manned checkouts available if I a customer chooses this route but also self scan where they are also manned and colleagues available to help
My Tesco in Shrewsbury there are line of people waiting at manned check outs while the self check outs stay empty. Staff are always trying to persuade you to the self check out. I do not believe that the majority prefer self serve. It is all because Tesco want to cut costs by cutting staff. The day Tesco close the last manned checkout is the last time I use Tesco. The only time I will use self serve is when no supermarket has manned tills.
No no no. Self service is a complete waste of time. I will not use them. I want to be served by a proper person. I will queue at a manned checkout however long it takes. It will be quicker in the long run.
OK with self service tills but not with the fact in our local tesco there are only two which take cash and is always a long queue for these when the others are free
Customers do not like self service check out the last thing a customer wants to do after a busy day is working for the supermarket they are in and that’s what it is the customer working for the store 250,000 signatures and rising I have stopped using tesco asda Morrisons for that reason yet you can usually see two girls on customer service chatting away while customers are doing their work beggars belief!
Clearly this is a cost saving exercise.My concern is that customers are being forced into self scan .Bar code problems are still an issue and if you have a problem there are not enough staff to help and the help staff when you get them are not motivated and indeed not trained to deal with issues coupled with a lack of supervision
I waited 30 minutes this week at a store in Budapest because of a bar code issue.
If tesco pay me, I’ll use self service. Otherwise I’m taking a job from someone. I’ll shop elsewhere failing that
If anyone thinks that I’m going to scan a great big trolley full of shopping myself they need their head examined after I’ve trailed around a blimin store looking for everything! So that’s it Tesco .. goodbye!
Yet another thing we are being forced into .. like the demise of cash!
I spend alot of money in Tesco it has changed so much. If I have to scan my own shopping I will deffo stop shopping at Tesco’s.
Same here
I will not use self service tills. Do most on home delivery ,I am elderly so do not like this new checkout procedure.
I have shopped sat Tesco several times instead of Morrisons, it did involve a 16 mile round trip, but it was worth it. Goods were cheaper.
Their scan & shop was easy.
A bold decision for Tesco to make all their stock payment optional. It’s already easy enough to not scan something as it is with staff watching.
I used Tesco for my main weekly shop for many years spending about £120 a week but I’ve changed to ASDA as I can’t be bothered to hassle with the long ques for a manned checkout at Tesco. I have never yet managed to use a self service till without having to summon assistance so now I refuse to use them. If shoppers don’t like the way Tesco are treating their customers and staff do I did and spend your money where you will get the service you deserve. I’m sure the loss in revenue will encourage Tesco to change their mind.
I prefer to go on till where staff scan it through because I am disabled and I wudnt b able to stand a long time at self check outs
During busy times they could introduce Assisted Checkout, where a colleague does the scanning for a customer.
Why not use the Aldi system, it is much easier and quicker. The packing shelf is a good idea.
Nothing to do with what the customer wants.Just another way to have less staff. No way do the majority of customers want self checkout. Also noticed tesco have made all the self service card only. Another money saver on their part. No having to count cash when emptied. Don’t they realise some people budget themself and use cash because more control of spending. CASH IS LEGAL TEMD.
Self service tills Put it in the bag! Take it out the bag! Item not recconised! Reduced yellow items scanning at full price because original barcode not covered Lighter items not reconised as “bagged” One poor assistant running from till to till to sort out issues as well as age restriction and de tagging items Not only are these robot tills springing up they seem to want to make them card only as well Prehaps its time to vote with our feet wait that bit longer for a manned till ignoring these self service ones and assistants trying to get you to use them Like the do you want a receipt/email receipt that is creeping in everywere…..too late to go back later and check price / offer as it gives retails a window to rectify it when someone queries it before those that check their emails later do How long before customer services/complaints become automated tills as well??!!
No manned tills would guarantee that I don’t shop there!!
I absolutely hate self service checkout.
Absolute disgrace should be manned tills
More importantly, they’re limiting the ability to pay using cash. Always queues for cash self-service, especially when only 2 out of 12 will accept cash payment. People of all ages are affected by this. Tesco don’t want to listen to customer needs and concerns.
Aldi is booming and has now displaced Morrisons to be the 4th largest retailer in the UK. Where I live at any rate customers are deserting Tesco for Aldi which in my town have NO self service
Have manned checkouts PLEASE as self-service will do away with personal contact for an awful lot of people. Maybe a lot of shoplifting!
I won’t go again I went today and all self checkouts were card only, I had cash and had to queue behind 13 people at customer services to pay, yes I did count, it isn’t fair on people who don’t like self checkout disgraceful
I think retailers need to be mindful about discrimination for people with protected characteristics and I would strongly argue an older person or disabled person meets that. They should be offered a manned till with a staff member packing if customer agrees on their shopping journey. I do not mind self service but not for a large shop. Both retailers and banks need to be mindful of protected characteristics and keep manned tills and bank branches open. It is only a matter of time before either face a claim in court. We live in a diverse society where all should be treated fairly in a way that suits their own needs.
I hate self service tills. We are doing the job that we already pay in the prices for. Give a small discount to use them and some
( not me ) may be tempted. By buying carrier bags we give them free advertising with their names on them. What next filling shelves as well.
Supermarkets say they are doing it for “enhancing customer experience”. They DON’T do ANYTHING for the benifit of their customers unless there is a serious benifit in it for themselves, generally financial. It’s just not in their nature. OK the “Snowflakes” and “Millenials” will buy into all that bovine excrement because they have grown up with social media and secondary eduction has not taught them to think for themselves.
At Christmas I will be three score years and sixteen, and I remember when life was good. I would add that I have had a mobile phone since 1992 and a computer since 1995, so I am not a dinosaur.
Since the pandemic lockdown, Argos, like many other well known shopping outlets, are making trying to do business with them as unpleasant as they can. To buy something online you have to set up an account. I DONT WANT A ******* ACCOUNT. You also have to pay for it before collecting it in store. I have had a blazing argument with my local store manager and asked him if he would buy and pay for a car based on a pretty picture in a newpaper, or would he want to see it and possibly take it for a test drive before buying. SILENCE.
Supermarkets say they are doing it for “enhancing customer experience”. They DON’T do ANYTHING for the benefit of their customers unless there is a serious benefit in it for themselves, generally financial. It’s just not in their nature. OK the “Snowflakes” and “Millennials” will buy into all that bovine excrement because they have grown up with social media and secondary education has not taught them to think for themselves.
At Christmas I will be three score years and sixteen, and I remember when life was good. I would add that I have had a mobile phone since 1992 and a computer since 1995, so I am not a dinosaur.
Since the pandemic lockdown, Argos, like many other well known shopping outlets, are making trying to do business with them as unpleasant as they can. To buy something online you have to set up an account. I DONT WANT AN ACCOUNT. You also have to pay for it before collecting it in store. I have had a blazing argument with my local store manager and asked him if he would buy and pay for a car based on a pretty picture in a newspaper, or would he want to see it and possibly take it for a test drive before buying. SILENCE.
20 self scan tills and just two staff at Lidl and one at Sainsbury’s for about 15 tills. The staff member having to approve items such as alcohol, knives, energy drinks and medicines etc are so rushed there is no eye contact and often slam a tatty barcode on the scanner without checking age. Who will they blame if these items fall in the wrong hands? The staff member rushing around as customers demand service will be sacked while the retailer fined not even at much as a second of the profits.
I will be moving all my food needs to small grocery shops like Central, corner shops, and farm shops, of which we have a good choice here on the Isle of Wight. Supermarkets can please themselves, as can I.
Never ever use self service the problem is the supermarkets know that very few customers will speak up and just fall in line with using self service. This week In a queue M&S manned till the cashier buzzed five times for another checkout to open and no-one else came to open one up while the queue was getting longer. Because they know that customers will give up and use self service in the end. So many self service machines have been installed in the supermarkets locally this year. Iceland and one Lidl is self service free at the moment.