Supermarket Shopping Is Too Slow. Change Is Coming.
How one little sign at the self-checkout in my local supermarket symbolised the change in human behaviour and need for a redesign in our shopping culture.
The Current Supermarket Shopping Experience
I was using the self-checkout at my local Tesco the other morning and spotted a new sign attached to the tills screen with sticky tape:
It seemed some customers were so used to the speed and efficiency of paying with contactless they would scan their items, tap their card on the reader, and upon hearing the reassuring *BEEP* to confirm the card was accepted, scoop up their shopping and start to head out of the store. That’s when the till would freak out! “What’s happening?! You’re leaving? But you haven’t finished paying!”
Inevitably, the customer should be confused; the machine beeped, told me my card was accepted, I’m good to go, right? Apparently not.
This scenario revealed something interesting. A new level of human behaviour is affecting the way we interact with these self-checkout till systems, indicating a design flaw. A review and redesign is being demanded by customers through their actions, without a word being uttered.
The point of contactless payment was to smooth the process of paying for items, increasing checkout efficiency and keeping customers moving, a win-win for both the customer and business. Faster payments means more efficient shopping for the business and the customer can complete their transactions quicker, freeing up their time. This has become the default payment process in a number of areas already. When the London underground adopted this payment method; simply scan your Oyster/Phone/Card/Ticket and *BEEP* you’re through, it became mainstream and businesses were quick to follow.
Contactless payment has become the default human behaviour. According to the BBC In 2017 it accounted for 76% of all retail sales. This new standard of paying has brought a new design flaw to the surface with the self-checkout system. The till system needs time to process the order before confirming the customer has paid. Meanwhile, the customer is hearing a confirmation beep from the card machine concluded they have paid and proceeds to leave, only to be stopped by a member of staff.
It’s clear the majority of customers have no interest in a physical receipt anymore. They’ll receive a digital receipt directly via their banking app or from Apple Pay, so why wait around for a needless piece of paper? So what’s causing the problem?
Speed Is Everything
The most likely reason for this issue occurring is the time it takes for the card machine to communicate with the till system. The customer scans their card, the system then sends a request to withdraw money from the customer’s account, it then receives a confirmation signal and then relays that approval to the Tesco till system which then sends the signal through their server and then displays a ‘Thank You’ message to the customer confirming their payment has gone through and they may take their items. That’s a lot of communication in a few seconds. But it isn’t quick enough anymore and customers expect an instant response only to have to stand and wait for something to happen.
“Never criticise unless you have a better alternative”
– Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things.
Being a designer, whenever I see a hand-made sign informing the user of how to actually use with the device or object, my mind springs into action devising a solution to eliminate the need for the sign (yes, I live a very exciting life). So, while using the self-checkout system, I went through this process in my head thinking of possible solutions.
Possible Solution: Ask the customer if they want a receipt before confirming payment
This could be done directly on the card machine. When a customer finishes scanning their items they are instructed to pay via the card machine, this moves their focus to a new screen with instructions on completing the payment process. It would make sense to ask for user input on the card machine screen, that’s now where their focus is. Depending on the user’s response, the card machine could then send a request to the till system which would print a receipt then thank the customer, indicating your obligations are fulfilled, allowing you to take your items and leave.
Keeping the instructions on the card machine as opposed to the self-checkout till would smooth the process slightly as switching focus from the till, to the card machine and back again creates a lot of opportunities for mistakes to occur.
Possible Solution: Pre-scan the card before scanning items
This one seems odd at first and would involve changing cultural behaviour (a difficult feat), but it does have some potential. In theory, scanning your card before scanning the items would eliminate the issue. This can be already be achieved with your Tesco ClubCard, so why not your Credit/Debit card?
This solution is already used in other areas. Paying for fuel at some service stations require scanning your card/phone before fuelling.
Ignore the pain point and you leave your business vulnerable to a new competitor.
What’s The Big Deal?
These solutions are by no means a criticism of the staff member who put the label on the self-checkout tills. They spotted a recurring issue and created a solution within their capabilities. Wherever you go, you will most likely encounter a hand-made sign on your travels highlighting a design flaw; ‘MIND THE STEP’, ‘PUSH TO OPEN’ and so on. We still do this because it is the most cost effective way of correctly communicating the correct function of the object with the user. It is also an opportunity for designers to evolve the design of the object and work better with human behaviour.
But why does this matter? It’s just a small annoyance. People will get used to it, right? I don’t think they will. I believe this is the start of a change in the retail market.
We Demand Speed
We as consumers demand a speedy service, it’s what we’ve come to expect. When our demands are met by a business we start to favour them. Competitors realise they need to follow suit in order to stay competitive. This speed then quickly becomes the norm and any similar service that is slower is quickly met with criticism, driving slow businesses down. Ignore the issue and you leave your business vulnerable to a new competitor. This is what will happen with Tesco and other supermarkets. Especially after seeing what market disruptors are proposing. Disruptors like Amazon.
Eliminate All The Pain Points
What if all the issues facing customers at the self-checkout system were eliminated altogether? What if the idea of a checkout was eliminated altogether? That’s what Amazon are proposing with their business venture; Amazon Go.
Notice how streamlined this proposed shopping process is? There is only one user input obstacle; they need to scan their phone in order to enter the store, that’s it. Once the customer is in the store they can collect the items they want and walk out.
If something like Amazon Go takes off — and it will — existing supermarkets will be forced to change. Customers will gravitate towards this method of shopping as it eliminates so many pain-points and improves their shopping experience. Because of its ease of use and speed, this service will become the new norm.
Amazon can build their stores from the ground up with this new technology and design the shopping experience perfectly. Existing supermarkets would need to invest a huge amount of money retroactively fitting their stores with the same technology and capabilities. To add to the struggle Amazon have already patented their shopping method.
However, Amazon likely won’t want to eliminate the competition but instead licence their ‘Just Walk Out’ technology to other stores — a similar business model to their Amazon Web Services, the most profitable branch of the Amazon juggernaut.
Existing supermarkets will have no choice but to agree to the licensing terms, or be left behind. This will put Amazon in a powerful position; not just as the disruptor, but the manufacturer and supplier to its own competitors. As the efficiency of shopping improves, more and more stores will jump on board. This will shift the cultural behaviour and change how we shop — forever.
What’s Your Alternative?
Speed is king. What service do you use that is painfully slow? Whatever it is, can you think of a solution that could be implemented to improve the experience? What’s your solution for the till issue?
Amazon Go discovered a significant user pain point and has proposed a solution, accelerating the shopping experience. At Lunar Works, we build digital platforms that create better user experience without stealing your time. We focus on the user’s needs by discovering your pain points. We create Progressive Web Apps, the next phase of the web. If you’re interested in learning more, visit our website.
