3 ms·

Self-checkouts and checkouts in general have gotten slow because they're increasingly dominated by elderly customers. At least that's my experience. Over the

Self-checkouts and checkouts in general have gotten slow because they're increasingly dominated by elderly customers. At least that's my experience. Over the last 5 years, I've noticed way fewer young people shopping in person. I think a lot of those under 50 have switched to services like Instacart and Amazon Fresh. And I can't say I blame them. The checkout process has become excruciating. I love and respect my elders, but for some reason they collectively fail to check out in an appropriate amount of time without error.

switch007 4y ago
Or perhaps more fairly: the self-checkouts fail to serve the needs of the elderly.
- ravenstine 4y ago
  True, yes, and they fail to serve the needs of many. I'm skeptical as to whether more tech is the right answer to serving the elderly. Self-checkouts are essentially saying "hey, you're as capable of scanning and bagging as the next person, so do it yourself with a small number of groceries." By definition, the elderly won't be as good of candidates for this on average because they will tend to be slower and not as fluent with tech that serves the majority. A technological solution might be able to serve both if it could adjust to the user. Since these checkouts are hesitant to implement a more full-fledged user management system, I doubt we will see such a thing any time soon. With user accounts with profiles and settings (beyond just having a store card), the experience could be tailored to what is most useful to the user and make suggestions. If we're not going to get that, then regular checkouts are the better answer for the elderly or anyone else who will be prone to issues with self-checkouts.
nulbyte 4y ago
I find checkout has gotten slow because a lack of staff. It never fails that there are lines out into the shopping aisles because a store can't staff more than two or three cashiers, even at their busiest times.

switch007 4y ago

Or perhaps more fairly: the self-checkouts fail to serve the needs of the elderly.

ravenstine 4y ago
True, yes, and they fail to serve the needs of many. I'm skeptical as to whether more tech is the right answer to serving the elderly. Self-checkouts are essentially saying "hey, you're as capable of scanning and bagging as the next person, so do it yourself with a small number of groceries." By definition, the elderly won't be as good of candidates for this on average because they will tend to be slower and not as fluent with tech that serves the majority. A technological solution might be able to serve both if it could adjust to the user. Since these checkouts are hesitant to implement a more full-fledged user management system, I doubt we will see such a thing any time soon. With user accounts with profiles and settings (beyond just having a store card), the experience could be tailored to what is most useful to the user and make suggestions. If we're not going to get that, then regular checkouts are the better answer for the elderly or anyone else who will be prone to issues with self-checkouts.

nulbyte 4y ago

I find checkout has gotten slow because a lack of staff. It never fails that there are lines out into the shopping aisles because a store can't staff more than two or three cashiers, even at their busiest times.