Woolworths self-serve checkouts usage soars

Australian shoppers are flocking to Woolworths’ self serve checkouts.

Australian shoppers are flocking to Woolworths’ self serve checkouts.

On announcing that its 100th store is to receive the technology, Woolworths has disclosed that over half a million Australians have now used the new technology in the last six months since its rollout.

The turning on of the self serve checkouts at Woolworths’ Prospect store, in Sydney’s west, means the rollout of the system across the 780 Woolworths and Safeway supermarkets nationwide is now 13% complete.

Woolworths is the first supermarket to introduce self serve checkouts in Australia.

“This is a significant milestone for the installation of the exciting new self serve checkouts at Woolies which puts us well on the road to rolling out the technology nationwide,” said Marty Hamnett, Woolworths’ director of operations.

Hamnett said the popularity of self serve checkouts had exceeded expectations, “More than one third of customers – that’s about half a million people – have used self serve checkouts in the stores where they are installed, way above the 20% we expected. We see this as a testament to how the new checkouts are both fast and easy to use.”

The most enthusiastic adopters of the new checkouts can be found in Safeway’s new Victoria Harbour store in Melbourne’s Docklands area, where 54% of customers scan their own way.

The new checkouts were officially launched at Woolworths Northbridge, in Sydney’s North Shore, in April and are now available in 100 stores nationally. In the coming weeks, self serve checkouts will arrive in more stores including Dubbo, Mudgeeraba, Albury, Floreat and Toorak.

Giving customers complete control over their shopping experience by letting them scan, weigh and pay for their own groceries quickly and easily, the new checkouts accept cash, credit or debit cards and will even dispense mobile phone top up vouchers and allow customers to take cash out.

Inside Retailing