Automatic checkouts: Specialist retailers follow in supermarket footsteps

Automated checkouts have been widely adopted by supermarkets, and are now being deployed at specialty retailers. Between recruitment difficulties, cost inflation and consumer satisfaction, chains such as Fnac, Kiabi and Leroy Merlin have followed in the footsteps of pioneers such as Ikea, Décathlon and Zara.

Through Sophie Baqué, Bleuenn Fequant. Published on 28 August 2023 à 21h48 - Update on 13 November 2024 à 17h10

Key points

-Amongst specialised French retailers, the level of rollout of self-checkouts greatly varies: 68% at Ikea stores, 33% at Kiabi, while Sephora is still in its infancy.

-Depending on the store, these checkouts capture between 15% and 50% of customer traffic. However, the 100% automatic experiments by Amazon, Auchan and Carrefour proved unsuccessful, showing that traditional checkouts and SCO will continue to co-exist.

-To avoid shrinkage uplifts, SCO suppliers are developing computer vision systems, able to detect products that are not (or poorly) scanned. Hybrid checkouts are another rising trend.

In the early 2000s, self-checkout (SCO) systems were introduced in France at Auchan and Casino, and in the U.S.A. at Kroger and Costco, operated by IBM Retail. Today, Intermarché has 1,600 SCO checkouts in 1,835 stores. In specialised retail, the arrival of this checkout system is more recent in France, but developing amongst many players. According to an RBR study from June 15, 2023, of the 4,640 SCOs sold in France in 2022, 15% (or 690 units) were destined for non-food stores.

Deployment levels by retail chain

In order to adopt automatic checkouts, retailers need to adapt the model and technologies to their product typology.

D.I.Y. and furniture:

Among specialist retailers, Ikea France has been a pioneer in terms of SCO: “France has been a pilot for Ikea worldwide since 2007. The first installation took place in 2008 at the Paris Nord store,” explains Stéphane Ferry, Payment Manager at Ikea France. “Although the aim at launch was a 50% adoption rate (i.e., 50% of stores having one or more automatic checkouts, editor’s note), it took a little time to reach this figure at national level”. Today, the company has 39 furniture stores in France, and exceeded this target, with 68% of stores are equipped with self-service checkouts. Of all the checkouts in Ikea stores, 70% are SCOs and 30% are traditional checkouts. Leroy Merlin, which respond to queries, has deployed automatic checkouts in stores. In 2019,…

Sophie Baqué, Bleuenn Fequant