At grocery stores, there are three main options for self-checkout systems.
One is an app, like the one Wegmans used, in which shoppers scan items as they go through a store. There are also self-checkout lanes, near the traditional registers that are staffed by store workers, in which shoppers scan and bag their purchases. An employee usually stands near these lanes to help with any complications.
A third was spearheaded by Amazon at its brick-and-mortar Amazon Go stores: Shoppers put items into their carts, and their accounts are automatically charged upon leaving without having to stop at a register. This approach relies on technology such as sensors and cameras that detect when an item is removed from a shelf and placed into a customer’s cart.
Self-checkout systems were developed to help speed up grocery shopping, said Ray Wimer, a professor of retail management at Syracuse University. He said he had noticed the systems improve in efficiency over the past two decades.
Self-checkout systems were developed to lower labor costs by offloading work from employees to customers. It’s all Shadow Work.