Are we facing a self-checkout future?

Over the past years we have witnessed a radical change in the management of the most delicate stage of the entire purchase process: payment.

It was the need to shorten queues that initially led to using automated systems that could simplify checkout and provide self-service solutions. Today, this first experience has allowed us to discover the many advantages that self-technologies can provide to consumer purchasing experience and to store management.

Main advantages for consumers:
Timesaving - less time in checkout queues and quicker item scanning and payment;
Privacy - greater confidentiality when purchasing.

Main advantages for retailers:
Saving - lower general management costs and optimisation of the cashier staff costs;
Customer Experience - offer a satisfactory purchasing experience and at the same time specifically dedicated promotions to single customers by involving them actively and allowing them to make choices on their own.

According to Technavio analysts, today the global self-checkout value amounts to 2.2 billion dollars, and a constant increase is expected over the next four years that will reach a 18% growth rate in 2021.

The driving market continues to be the US market totalling 45%. Specifically, the leading countries are USA, Brazil and Canada, where the self-service concept is more deeply rooted and developed, followed by Europe which stands at 33%.

Traditionally, Italy has always been wary of self-service technologies and has always preferred the invaluable assistance of human staff. Self-service and traditional cashiers have started to coexist only in recent years: a gradual integration that has led to deeply transforming the concept of "payment barrier" and which has truly been able to broaden the service and satisfy all kinds of purchasing behaviour.

Custom has a very good knowledge of the self-service sector. Custom's' OEM/INDUSTRIAL division has long offered innovative technologies for the management of kiosk and self-service systems, such as kiosk printers, self-service printers, ATM printers, ticket printers or OEM scanners.

Discover Custom's self-service technologies on our website and get in touch with us if you would like further information.

System Retail is a Custom group company specialised in software applications for Large-Scale Retailing Groups and Large-Scale Retailers. It provides self-service solutions integrated with its own Front end EVO software. This integration allows retailers to offer their customers self-purchasing solutions together with a number of additional services, such as mobile top-ups, gift cards and meal voucher management, i.e. typical services of advanced cash points. Continuous research and development into new solutions and services for the Retail market has allowed System Retail to establish itself since 2010 as the only contact point for both hardware and software solutions. Integration between the EVO software application and the Self Serv Checkout native environment allows complete management of the terminal, whether self-service or convertible. This is achieved by offering an intuitive interface and added value services.