Can a supermarket work without tills?

I am wondering whether fully-planned shopping like click-&-collect and home delivery are killing the impulse buying trade so the retailers are having to find other ways to maintain profit levels. Turning us all into shopping robots might be the answer. I don’t see speed as the key to a good shopping experience.

I get “inspiration” when doing a physical food shop by seeing things I might not have searched for on line. Also, scanning shelves reminds me of stuff I need that might have been forgotten. And I choose my own substitutions. The more people who use C&C or home delivery the less crowded will be our supermarkets, so a bit of a win win perhaps.

Having said that I also buy online from Cook (other outlets exist) at times. I find their food very good quality, generous portions, a very varied selection, so keep a stock in the freezer. They give me a choice of menu when I don’t want to cook from scratch.

Early this morning I was awakened to the sound of someone knocking on my door. Half awake I stumbled down the stairs to find a young handsome gentleman with a mobile phone and a whole weeks shopping. What’s not to like? Living in the present is great!

Which of the three did you keep, Beryl? 🙂

Malcolm wrote: “I get “inspiration” when doing a physical food shop by seeing things I might not have searched for on line.” The online supermarkets I have used provide useful reminders of what I have bought before, plus the odd suggestion. I was extremely inefficient at shopping in supermarkets and may have pushed my trolley back and forth for a mile or more. I’ve not managed to get that exercise shopping online.

I agree with Wavechange about shopping efficiency on-line. It is better, and there are handy hints about possible accompaniments, alternatives, and offers that might be missed wandering around the aisles.

I expect physical grocery shopping will pick up again in due course, but if footfall decreases in the superstores there will be rationalisation since on-line orders can be fulfilled from a warehouse. Delivery also saves a lot of time because the only time spent after submitting the order is bringing the goods indoors which takes just a few minutes.

We have more choices now, John. Most supermarkets now offer a choice of staffed or self-service checkouts, though there are exceptions. Self-service checkouts were very troublesome when first introduced but have improved. I quite like the idea of being able to pick up groceries and put them in my own bag, though I have yet to try it. I was an early user of online shopping on behalf of my elderly mother, who lived over a hundred miles away. There were no saved ‘favourites’ in these days and what we have now is a much slicker operation. The increase in demand as a result of Covid has helped, although it has contributed to the poor experiences reported by some customers.

I enjoy being able to order online a couple of days in advance and by the following day I will have inspected my stocks and deleted some items and added others. I suppose those shopping in store could use a shopping list or an app.

Now that would be telling Malcolm!

A good point Wavechange. You do miss the exercise. I agree, the regular items are already in checkout and I delete the items I don’t need. Christmas stamps arrived in this mornings delivery, so no queueing in the P.O..

I have not done any sort of sport since I developed asthma, Beryl, but I get plenty of exercise from walking. At a supermarket or shopping centre I park in a quiet corner which means a longer walk but helps avoid damage caused by careless motorists. If I go into the city I park outside and walk to the shops, which also avoids parking charges.

I have not shopped from previous orders but I know that this option exists.

Apart from the odd visit to Lidl where parking is easy, free and spacious, I have not been anywhere near a large supermarket for quite a long time Wavechange. I don’t really miss them either.

We have a huge local Lidl that opened before the pandemic. I noticed that all the checkouts had attendants whereas a local-ish one focuses mainly on self-service. The Lidl is in a sensible place, whereas there relatively recent Aldi is difficult to get out of onto a busy road.

One of the benefits of QR codes is that they can provide information. I used to shop in Maplin and pointing my phone at the code on shelf labels would provide information without going to the one catalogue provided so that I could check the details. I wish Screwfix would do this rather than providing a row of catalogues for customers to leaf through. Think of looking at fridges and being able to pull up the full specification just by waving the phone over the QR code.

I’m not keen to go into supermarkets at the moment but not having to wait at checkouts could encourage me in.

It would seem to exclude people who don’t have the right kind of phone, including those on low incomes who I presume Aldi appeals to. Although perhaps that is not the case in the London trial store.

With a single store that might not be an immediate concern. The wealthiest person I know shops in Lidl by choice. Many people on lower incomes have a smartphone because it’s their only computer and only phone.

Only time will tell if till-free supermarkets reduce the cost of shoplifting, which is passed on to all customers.

I sometimes wonder what the savings are for the retailers that have adopted till-free shopping. It possibly suits certain locations with a particular customer profile and a more selective stock inventory, but by the time all the cameras, recording, and other control and security measures have been installed, serviced and maintained I doubt the profit benefit adds up to a can of beans. It could just be a flash in the pan as retailers try to capture market share from rivals with ease and speed of shopping being the primary appeal.

With the percentage of elderly people in the population continuing to rise it seems a curious choice of business model. That’s not say that elderly people cannot cope with new technology; they can, and do very well. But they have more time to do their shopping so speed is not necessarily a priority for them. They are looking for comfort and convenience with more products within reaching distance and less bending, wider aisles but overall less walking, special times when the store is less busy, proportionate pricing for small quantities, and a friendly no-rush checkout service [Aldi scores low on that anyway]. Home delivery is probably the best service for that section of the market for which the internet is proving quite successful. Maybe that is how the grocery business will evolve and divide over time.

Customers have different preferences. For example some customers will queue at staffed checkouts if the have a trolley full of groceries whereas they might use a self-service checkout for one or two items.

Till-free supermarkets will not appeal to everyone for various reasons. Fair enough and at present few will have used them. Till supermarkets will have large development costs but potentially could save staff costs. In busy city centre supermarkets they could reduce the cost of shoplifting, though it would be interesting to know if this is the case.

What I don’t understand is why new developments are strongly criticised by those who have never even used them. As John says, older people are often perfectly capable of using new technology but unfortunately a significant number reject it.

Constructive discussion must not be confused with (unfounded) criticism.

As I doubt anyone commenting here has ever used the Aldi Greenwich store, on thar basis there would be no discussion. And many other Convos would similarly remain empty. The purpose of a Convo is to explore different aspects of a topic and you do not need direct experience to do that. No more than commenting on the public transport service between Cambridge and Heathrow Airport. Or discussing the principle of cashback without purchase. 🙂

One of the concerns that retailers have about self-service checkouts is theft, whether accidental or deliberate: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/may/20/nation-of-shoplifters-supermarket-self-checkout

If till-free supermarkets prove successful they might replace self-service checkouts rather than the staffed ones. Only time will tell.

There doesn’t seem much very recent information. I wonder how many honest people are actually comfortable stealing low value items and using the machine as an excuse? I think the majority have ethics. Those that haven’t will deliberately thieve, by “conventional” shoplifting or otherwise.

Supplier and staff theft seem a bigger problem, with wastage by error in the same league. I would guess if supermarkets found self checkout tills to be too lossy they would do something to increase security.
https://www.retailresearch.org/crime-costs-uk.html

Even if most of us don’t steal from supermarkets the costs of theft are paid for us, which is particularly worrying with rising inflation and energy costs, and many having to use food banks. The conventional self-service checkouts are easy to deceive, for example by switching barcodes or maybe coming prepared with new ones.

Obviously customers can steal at staffed checkouts or simply pocket some products from the shelves but perhaps till-free checkouts could be a worthwhile step forward.

As I understand it the checkout weighs each item and checks it is correct against the barcode. It would seem difficult to swap barcodes unless the products had identical weight.

From what I have read today some theft is done by substituting cheaper items with more expensive ones of similar weight. As we discussed in a Conversation about underweight products there can also be variation in the weight of different items with the same barcode and we have discussed this in a Conversation in underweight products. That’s just content and packaging can vary more.

In the past few years the banks have added to the complexity of transactions in various ways such as two factor authentication and confirmation of payee. I recognise these are a worthwhile benefit in fighting crime. If I have to log on to an online account and paste in an account number perhaps it’s worthwhile rather than simply clicking on a link.

Some wholesalers have been using the weight/product method for years; I think Makro were the first. But it’s proved easily fooled. Modern checkout systems, however. are far more accurate but still have to account for small discrepancies in items such as salmon and meat products. Waitrose (25 miles down the road from us) has evolved a system whereby every item is weighed prior to display, and each item assigned a unique barcode.

That’s encouraging. I presume that the barcode or QR code is separate from the normal one.

I can’t remember the details, but I recall reading that, after installing self-service checkouts, supermarkets were finding that the sale of carrots exceeded the stock levels in the warehouse.

I imagine that this problem has diminished as card payments have become the norm and purchases are traceable.

Not surprisingly, we, the public, do not have much information about supermarket theft. It does not look good and could encourage others. Nevertheless we know that it is a major concern. I have not encountered the system mentioned by Ian but that could have been in place years ago.

There are reports online. This gives some general information (posted earlier) https://www.retailresearch.org/crime-costs-uk.html

This gives us information about the scale of the problem and the fact that it is increasing but it would be useful to know, for example, how much theft takes place at self-service tills compared with staffed ones. It would be interesting to know which supermarkets are best at reducing their losses through theft.

I’m not expecting to see detailed information but any supermarket that can significantly reduce theft will have a competitive advantage. It remains to be seen whether till-free supermarkets could help reduce theft or whether they have their own vulnerabilities or operational difficulties. Recall how unreliable self-service tills were when the were first introduced.

I understand supermarket profit margins are between 1 and 3%. So a £1 theft can need up to £100 of sales to recover the loss. Supermarkets are known for their financial controls ( they have to be at such low margins) and I would expect them to be fully aware of losses through theft and dealing with methods to control it. I doubt they are sitting back.

Design and layout are the main ways of deterring thieves and then prosecution on detection.

One way they protect themselves from shoplifting is by careful positioning of high-value products [e.g. meat, liquor, cosmetics] as far away as possible from the exits or within sight of a staffed counter.

High-priced liquor is usually protected by a indicator cap that can only be removed at the till and high-priced cosmetics are often enclosed within a locked cabinet requiring staff assistance.

Pharmaceutical products are prone to pilferage because the packaging is often small and the items are costly. I notice that these are generally stocked within sight of the pharmacy counter

Supermarkets are vulnerable to a trolley dash but that depends on being able to locate a get-away vehicle close to the doorway and that area is usually given over to disabled parking, parent-&-child parking, and banks of trolleys to thwart a rapid escape. Those with pay-on-exit parking controls and exit barriers can intercept mobile criminals easily.

There are always going to be small scale thefts from any retail operation from market stalls upwards and this is factored into pricing if possible. CCTV, visible security personnel and covert security provide vigilance and intelligence.

The 1-3% profit margins of supermarkets are after wastage and losses due to shoplifting and staff thefts but, as Malcolm says, they are determined to minimise avoidable losses. There is quite a bit of psychology employed and stores involved in strong competition with each other will nonetheless cooperate with information to deter crime.

I remember in 2019 I needed to get a bottle of champagne in what I thought was the prosperous and law-abiding market town of Skipton. I went into the large Tesco store in the town centre and was surprised that there was a very limited choice on the shelves [and few other expensive drinks on display] so I had to have the only bottle available. I spoke to the security guard on duty near the drinks department and he told me that they had suffered from a lot of shoplifting and, to prevent multiple thefts, only had one of each line on display at any time. Most customers requiring such beverages used click-&-collect or on-line ordering apparently.

I remember finding a bottle with a security tag in a click & collect order. Rather than taking it back the assistant suggested I took it and the tag would come off after I had opened the bottle, which it did. I’m glad that it was not bought as a gift.

Quite, Vynour. I am happy with the way my supermarkets operate with both (wo)manned and self service tills. I am also keen to see new ideas tried out, even if the shoppers who might use them are more limited (I doubt my Galaxy S4 would cope with the technology though). But leave a choice. Why make life difficult?

When I enter any retail store, I prefer to know I have a choice in the way in which I pay for what I buy. I would hesitate to enter a store that needed an app on a smart phone, (since I don’t possess one), to mark up everything I put in the trolley or basket.

We do not necessarily have a fear of the unfamiliar or unknown, what we fear most is giving up the known!

From what I have read there may not be the opportunity to pay unless you have used a smartphone to log in, Beryl. I would hope this is made clear at the door like any requirement to pay by cash or card should be. Since you are not alone in not having a smartphone I doubt that any supermarket is going convert most of its stores any time soon.

My understanding is also that there are cameras and sensors to detect what has been removed from shelves but not returned, so if the system works without a hitch you would be able to simply walk out to the store and be billed, which might appeal to customers who had popped in to by lunch.

Yes we become accustomed to what happens in our daily life and feel comfortable with it. I suppose that who have been victims of scams etc. may be genuinely concerned that it could happen again.

When I was a student I did not have a cheque book to start with and I received statements only every three months, so I had to write down all my payments. It was better when I had monthly statements and now I can check my balance and recent transactions in about a minute. In these days I did not have to keep check for possible scams, so progress brings both good and bad.

I don’t doubt what you say Wavechange, and when the need arises, I will invest in a smart phone to align with other smart devices I have.

I would not feel at ease exiting a supermarket without paying in case an alarm was activated and I was arrested for shoplifting. I don’t see this working unless all stores have them, otherwise you may mistakenly think you are in a store with such payment methods when you are not, unless you remember to check the entrance for display notices.

High street shopping would become a nightmare instead of a pleasant day out with a coffee and a snack. With the increase in online shopping during the pandemic affecting high street footfall, the focus should now be on encouraging consumers to return without the extra stressors of how I need to pay, when I need to pay, where I need to pay or if I need to pay.

I have never used one of these supermarkets, Beryl. If you have logged in with your phone you will know if you if you are using the system and I assume that you can see on your phone how much you will be charged when you leave.

I presume that the new stores – currently a handful in the UK – are there to reduce costs and possibly reduce theft. I can well remember our first proper supermarkets, Asda and then Sainsbury. They were so different from what went before.

Most people I know have gone back to shopping in store but I’m still enjoying using click & collect.

I guess I will continue with Ocado deliveries Wavechange, supplemented by the local farm shop where they pack your bag for you and have time for a friendly chat and the parking is free and easy.

Hopefully we will continue to have choices.

I think the till-free shopping facilities will, for numerous practical reasons, only work in small city centre locations where the store has a small inventory and mainly serves people doing a limited shop for fairly immediate consumption. Major supermarkets with 50,000 lines are not really suitable for this development at present but as processes move on it could become a future feature in a dedicated section of a superstore or in the mini-shop attached to the fuel station.

Having said that, these might have no purpose after we have all-electric motoring paid for at the recharging point. On the other hand, shopping speed will no longer be so critical while waiting for the car to recharge and a slow-speed shop might be a profitable diversion as a place to linger and spend money on treats and bits & pieces, play slot machines, and get a hot drink and a snack. A screen could display the recharging status for all the vehicles attached to the units.

Only time will tell whether till-free supermarkets will work or be abandoned as a failed experiment. The costs of employing staff to operate conventional tills is high and must be paid for even if they are just waiting for the next customer.