Self-service option hits grocery stores, other retailers

The chance to ring, pay and bag your own purchases has captivated consumers Valleywide, while stores continue to add more self-checkouts than ever before.

Grocery stores say they receive great praise for having self-checkouts available and many plan to implement a larger number of them and in more locations.

But businesses other than grocery stores have started using them as well, while customers decide whether checking out their own items is a convenience or a pain.

Self-checkouts have cropped up at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Wal-Mart, ACE Hardware, Walgreens, Fry’s, Bashas’ and Food City. And they’re coming soon to Valley Safeway stores.

The presence of self-checkouts everywhere has persuaded many consumers to use them to avoid long lines at traditional checkouts despite reservations about the machinery.

IHL Consulting Group, a global research and advisory firm, said customers are “converted” to self-checkout machines after they use them a few times. The firm reported that six is the magic number of times it takes a person to get hooked.

In fact, 91 percent of consumers will use self-checkout even though they do not like to, according to IHL’s research.

Some consumers, on the other hand, have concerns about the repercussions of this seemingly unstoppable computer takeover that began almost a decade ago.

Greg Childers, 34, of Mesa, said self-checkout is a money-making strategy for the stores.

“I think it just takes away from jobs,” he said while shopping at a Fry’s on Baseline Road.

Grocery store representatives said self-checkouts are intended to improve customer service. They are a way for those shoppers checking out with only a few items to skip long lines, Food City spokeswoman Alison Bendler said.

“It’s truly for convenience,” said Kristy Nied , Bashas’ spokeswoman. “Customers appreciate them because they save time.”

Speed and convenience are the two most cited reasons for using self-checkouts, according to IHL Consulting Group.

Lee Holman, lead retail analyst for IHL , said self-checkouts seem faster because people are more involved in the process.

“In a very real sense, it is slower for the typical consumer (to use self-checkout),” Holman said.

Mesa resident Renee Brown, 45, said the machines do seem quicker but are a headache.

“I hate them,” she said. “Sometimes there is not a checker . . . at that counter, and you got to wait.”

Teresa Ramos, 52, Mesa, agreed self-checkout is a pain.

“I don’t like them,” Ramos said. “They always come out with an error, and I still have to get help.”

Despite complaints, the growing craze over self-service is expected to raise self-checkout sales by 20 percent this year, according to IHL.

Grocers across the Valley are rushing to build more self-checkouts, including Bashas’. Nied said customers often praise the company for having them.

Safeway is one of the last of the large grocery chains to implement the machines in the East Valley.

Safeway spokeswoman Nikki Daly said the company tested self-checkouts at one store about five years ago, but they “were not pleased with the technology.”

“We wanted it to be very customer-friendly before we thought about introducing it again,” Daly added.

Recently, a Safeway in Florence opened with self-checkouts as did a store on Scottsdale Road and Asher Hills Drive. Safeway plans to have self-checkouts at five locations in Phoenix and Tucson by the end of the year.