Why self-checkouts cause customers to be less loyal to stores

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

Automatic checkouts at supermarkets can make customers less loyal to the store, a new study reveals.

For people with a large shop to do, having to use the automatic check-outs was an extra effort which left them feeling underwhelmed with the supermarket.

Without help from staff, shoppers felt that they were simply being abandoned to do everything themselves, reflecting badly on the store.

Most branches have introduced self-checkouts which they say are easier, quicker and reduce costs.

But it seems they leave customers feeling less connected to the shop itself.

Researchers from Drexel University produced the study, published in the Journal of Business Research after realizing no one had looked into it.

They found the perceived ease of checkout and a sense of being left to do it all themselves played a role in explaining the effect of loyalty.

They also noted the number of items purchased during the shopping trip also affects how the type of checkout influences customer loyalty.

Professor Dr. Yanliu Huang said: "Our findings indicate that self-checkout systems, despite their advantages in terms of speed, ease of use, and cost reduction, can result in lower customer loyalty compared to regular checkout systems, especially when the number of purchased items is relatively high, say over 15."

The team conducted five studies that showed customers are more likely to remain loyal to the grocery store when using regular checkout service.

They found loyalty is demonstrated by an increased likelihood of returning to the store in the future.

Extra effort required to checkout along with bag purchases and the expectation of being served by the store were negative consequences of self-checkout and decreased loyalty to the store.

But Dr. Huang added: “We found that when customers were encouraged to think of the extra effort involved in self-checkout as a rewarding experience, their perceived loyalty to the store was similar to those of regular checkout shoppers.

“For example, to overcome the negative impacts of using self-checkout on customer loyalty, retailers should attempt to make the self-checkout experience more rewarding, like encouraging shoppers to think the extra effort involved in self-checkout is a rewarding experience.

“Doing so offers retailers a solution to improve their self-checkout customers’ overall shopping experience, which in turn will facilitate higher customer loyalty.”