Technology

Despite the well-publicized decisions of supermarket operators such as Big Y, Kroger and Albertsons to remove self-checkout units from their stores, other grocers are finding success with the service. For instance, U.K. grocery retailer Tesco PLC is rolling out NCR SelfServ Checkout at its stores across Central and Eastern Europe, giving customers in eight countries the option to scan, bag and pay for groceries themselves.

Tesco is the first retailer in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary to offer self-checkout technology, and has a higher number of such units at more stores in Poland than any other supermarket. The latest deployment comes on the heels of significant consumer adoption of self-checkouts at Tesco locations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and South Korea.

“New technology has a big role to play in making shopping easier and more convenient for customers,” noted Tesco CIO Mike McNamara. “The NCR compact self-checkouts give our customers a quick and easy option to pay, which they really like.”

In 2002, Tesco first deployed NCR SelfServ Checkout in the United Kingdom, where the technology proved an immediate hit with customers. Today, more than 10 million of the grocer’s U.K. shoppers use weekly, representing over a third of the retailer’s store transactions.

“Shoppers throughout the world are now demanding the speed, convenience, privacy and control offered by self-service solutions,” said Rick Chavie, VP of retail marketing at Duluth, Ga.-based NCR. “As a result, we are seeing a rapid acceleration in the adoption of NCR SelfServ Checkout. This technology is helping retailers not only boost customer service levels and overall store experience, but also contain operational costs as they continue to innovate with a growing array of products and store, online and mobile shopping channels.”