A UK supermarket chain has announced it intends to remove self-service checkouts. Will Australian chains follow?
Booths Supermarkets in England’s north has announced it will remove self-checkouts and put people behind the tills again, to the delight of loyal customers.
“It’s wonderful to see Booths stores returning to staffed tills, fostering a more personal and engaging shopping experience,” one customer posted on social media.
Supermarkets across the world have embraced self-service checkouts as they are cheaper than hiring staff.
However, they have proven controversial.
Some customers like the lack of human interaction and ability to get through a check-out quickly. Others bemoan the lack of personal service, the expectation to do the supermarkets’ work without a discount and lack of entry-level jobs.
And self-checkouts are expanding all the time. Both my local supermarkets have revamped the self-checkout areas to increase their footprint and my local Coles refuses to open a staffed checkout after 6pm.
But before we get carried away and indulge in speculation about this being the start of a trend, there are only 27 stores in the Booths chain.
In comparison, the UK’s largest chain, Tesco, has 4859 stores. Australia’s largest supermarket chain Woolworths has 1113 stores.
Booths is also a more ‘high-end’ chain and as such is designed to offer a more personal experience.
News.com.au asked Coles and Woolworths if they were considering a similar move to Booths and both confirmed the self-service checkouts were here to stay.
A Woolworths spokesperson said that while there was always the option to be served by a team member, the self-checkouts would remain.
“Customer feedback shows our self-serve checkouts are popular for their convenience and speed.”
Coles basically said the same thing, using different words.
“Over the past year, we have seen greater customer satisfaction and uptake in our self-service options. Of course, if customers prefer to be served by a team member, someone will always be available in the service area to serve them.”
This week’s best deals
Aldi
Sensible: Broad Oak Farm chicken breasts, 9.99/kg. Excellent savings on a weekly staple. Eat them now or bung some in the freezer. It makes my eyes sparkle finding a few frozen chicken breasts when wondering what to have for dinner.
Indulgence: Whole Duck, $19.99. No, that’s not a description, that’s its name. Although, it is also a whole duck. In the freezer section, so buy it now for Christmas. My one duck-cooking tip: pierce it generously with a skewer and cook it on a rack. Ducks are fatties … so much fat. But keep it for duck fat potatoes.
See the catalogue here.
Coles
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See the catalogue here.
Woolworths
Sensible: Australian yellow and white nectarines, $3.90/kg. First time I have seen nectarines at a sensible price this season. They are probably hard as rocks, but maybe good for cooking. Very long cooking.
Indulgence: Ocean Blue Smoked Salmon, $15.40, 300g, save $2.60. Although 300g doesn’t sound like much, a little bit goes a long way.
See the catalogue here.
IGA
Sensible: Hydralyte Electrolyte Tablets, 10-pack selected varieties, $7.70. These are in the sensible section because with Christmas parties coming up you may need them for the morning after. You can thank me later.
Indulgence: Country Delight Snowballs, eight pack $3.99. Metcash must have a good relationship with Country Delight because these are always on special, but I’m not sure why. I mean, is there a big demand for chocolate-covered marshmallows in your house?
See the catalogue here.
Do you use self-checkouts? Do you like them or do you prefer to be served by a staff member? Why not let us know in the comments section below?
Also read: How to stop parcel thieves taking your Black Friday purchases