Self-checkout has become a staple of the in-store retail environment. A 2024 study conducted by PYMNTS found that two-thirds (66%) of US consumers prefer self-checkout to staffed checkouts, with Generation Z (84%) and millennials (76%) leading the way in embracing the technology.
It might come as a surprise, then, that over the past year a number of retailers have started backpedaling on self-checkout. Some of the nation's biggest retailers, including Walmart, Target and Dollar General, took the decision to start removing self-checkout terminals in select stores last year, citing poor in-store experiences and a negative impact on customer satisfaction.
While traditional self-checkout may be causing issues for some brands, the answer doesn't lie in removing the technology completely. In an industry that already struggles to deliver high-quality customer service due to staff limitations, creating more demand for labor hours only restricts each associate's ability to add value on the sales floor.
The Current Challenges of Self-Checkout
According to The Grocer, 37% of shoppers openly admit to stealing in-store. Traditional self-checkout terminals, which rely on weight plates to verify items during transactions, have become a catalyst for theft. With little to no associate presence at the checkout area, customers can more easily commit scan fraud — manipulating the scanning process or failing to scan items at all.
Another challenge with typical self-checkout terminals is a fragmented experience. A core frustration is that the technology often requires associate intervention when a system glitches or an item is misread in the packing area. With one team member monitoring multiple terminals at once, lengthy delays follow if more than one customer needs help. A technology deployed to streamline checkout ends up slowing transaction rates and building longer queues.
How RFID-Powered Self-Checkout Alleviates Existing Issues
Tracking products at item level from manufacture through to sale, RFID technology gives retailers complete visibility of their entire inventory. Deployed at the foundation, RFID can also evolve a retailer's self-checkout offering to enhance both in-store experience and security at the same time.
Teamwork Commerce's RFID-Powered Self-Checkout terminals deliver secure transactions in 30 seconds or less. Customers place their basket or cart in a designated scanning zone, built-in RFID readers automatically and accurately scan all items, and customers simply pay and leave the store.
Automatic scanning actively mitigates theft attempts, removing the opportunity for scan fraud. If a customer does manage to progress beyond the terminal without paying, the RFID tags woven into each product are capable of triggering in-store alarms as customers pass through barriers, flagging unscanned items without hindering the experience for everyone else.
Importantly, the seamless flow created by RFID-powered self-checkout significantly improves the customer experience — reducing checkout and queuing times while still letting shoppers complete transactions at their own pace. With fewer staff tied to POS terminals, retailers can also deploy more associates focused entirely on adding value to the customer experience before shoppers move on to a seamless checkout.
Moving Back in Time Is Not the Answer
Self-checkout technology was introduced to alleviate pressure on in-store staff while creating faster transactions for customers. Rolling it back is not the fix for a poor customer experience — the technology simply needs to evolve.
As RFID's influence across retail grows, its role in enhancing security and customer experience at checkout — the final touchpoint in the retail journey — can transform a retailer's operations. Mitigating theft while enhancing satisfaction, RFID solves many of the issues that typical self-checkout runs into, all while improving shop floor efficiency.