Yes. Here is why.
You want to enhance customer experience, and you know that deploying an RFID based self check-out could make the shopping experience easier for your customers. For starters, RFID self-checkouts can instantly scan all of a customer’s items at once, and so they eliminate ques. A Box technologies report found that:
41 percent of shoppers have abandoned a purchase due to long wait times in checkout lines, and 86 percent avoid stores where they perceive the lines to be too long. So creating the easiest checkout possible is clearly something to prioritize.
Instant checkout systems are particularly relevant in the corona and post corona-virus era, which has inevitably changed shopping habits and raised the bar for brick and mortar shopping experiences. According to a recent McKinsey report, people are now turning increasingly to the ease of online shopping. Physical stores can no longer rely on the traditional basic transactional model and need to enhance the shopping experience in new ways. This means focusing on personalization and easier, more digitized shopping.
Stores need to Rapidly digitize and automate non-value-added work. Retailers should digitize and automate in-store activities, where possible, to free up associates for higher-value work. This includes automating labor scheduling, expanding the use of self-checkout and mobile checkout,
You may be convinced that an RFID self- checkout would be a worthwhile enhancement for your customer experience. The cost savings for your company could also be significant. An ITIF report found that cashier check in at airports cost around 3 dollars per customer, while self check in cost 14 cents per customer. However, you may also have questions about whether the upgrade would be realistic and affordable to implement. Modern RFID self-checkouts are surprisingly flexible and the implementation phase is also quite quick and easy for any sized company.
A smoother and faster experience for your customers
RFID self-checkout eliminates queues because it happens instantaneously, and this means a happy customer. Imagine that your customers can simply put items into a bag and go through check out without ever having to unpack; This is the future of self check-out experiences. Queueing is proven to be the most efficient thing to kill customer experience. The Box technologies study also reported that waiting time affects brand loyalty. 74% of customers would go to a competitor’s store for faster quing times, and 70% of customers wouldn’t go back to a store if they found the queuing time too long.
Traditional self-checkout can be expensive to deploy and quite time consuming for your customers. With RFID, deploying a quick and simple self checkout process is a transition that companies of any size can make and afford.
In a pilot we conducted with IBM in the UK, checkout of 9 items at a traditional barcode self-checkout register required 90 seconds, at a manned cashier it took 60 seconds and at a RFID based checkout under 10 seconds. This proves that solutions based on RFID truly enhance customer experience in the brick and mortar environment.
Self-Checkout allows stores to be open 24/7, no personnel needed
No more Clumsy Manual scanning
RFID based self-checkout systems are easy on your customers. Customers want the purchasing process to be smooth and easy. We all know the feeling of wanting to avoid barcode self-checkout (the most common self checkout in the market) because of the clumsy lifting and slow scanning of individual items. After a long day, looking for the barcodes on each item and manually scanning 10+ items at the grocery store isn’t appealing to (m)any customers. According to a Consumer Reports study, there is a litany of problems that consumers have with traditional self-checkout systems.
Three out of 10 respondents who used self-checkout complained that it didn’t work properly; 27 percent were ticked off that the customer ahead of him or her dawdled… while 14 percent confessed that they had a hard time simply trying to figure out how to navigate the system.”
All of these issues can be avoided with an RFID self-checkout because all customers have to do is put their bag in the scanning area and everything is automatically tallied up. It is perfect for scanning multiple items in one go because it does not require line of sight to the tag to be able to read it. This means the bag never has to be unpacked. After selecting their items, customers can just place it on the reader, pay and walk out.
Customized options and prefabricated stations for different needs
Another issue that self-checkout stations might come with is the need to make space for the registers. Many traditional self-checkout solutions are bulky and large, which requires a lot of floor space, in addition to the space that needs to be allocated for queueing customers. Today, RFID based checkout solutions can be fitted into existing furniture or designed to flexibly meet the space requirements even in smaller stores. According to Sprinting software Retail Insights,
RFID scanner gates are one of the most cost-efficient solutions when it comes to space. They take up much less space than the usual self-checkout counters.
And scanner gates aren’t your only option. There is a long list of different RFID self-checkout possibilities to choose from that require very little space.
RFID self-checkout isn’t only easier for your customers, it’s also a great option for your company to broaden in store services and provide your customer with the option to choose manned or unmanned checkout. On today’s market, there are a variety of customized or prefabricated options available according to your needs and budget. This means that there is always a working solution, even if you have a small space. If you have the desire for a customized set up and an interior re-haul, the sky is the limit. At the same time, affordable solutions that fit the preexisting conditions of your space are common. This more flexible option makes the RFID Self checkout accessible for both large and small companies.
Self-checkout is for any industry
The first industry to adopt RFID nearly 20 years ago was fashion retail. As the technology has evolved and the tags have developed, RFID deployment has also spread into new fields such as food retail, including convenient stores and take away restaurants. You are probably familiar with self-checkout in grocery stores, but there is no limitation.
Imagine Grab and go lunches, like bento boxes, in peak rush hours where everyone wants take out. Or, take a look at the unmanned Neste Easy Deli fully automated store that is installed in downtown Helsinki built on RFID based self-service solutions such as rapid self-checkout. You just place your selection of snacks on the reading area, pay and go.
Accurate, Easy Readings
Is RFID completely accurate in its readings? Barcode systems have an accuracy of around 70%, which is a far cry from perfect. They can also only scan one tag at once, each individual barcode needs to be in sight of the scanner and the barcode can only store a limited amount of data.
Modern RFID readers are able to read 100% of the items in the given reading area. You also don’t have to worry about stray reads; with the right RFID solution items from other customers or on surrounding shelves won’t be picked up. These developments mean that you don’t need to worry about reliability or flexibility – your customers will pay for all of the items quickly and easily thanks to 100% reading accuracy.
An all-in-one Service Provider for simple deployment
One of the most efficient ways of enhancing your customer experience is Implementing a modern automated self checkout system into your store. With RFID, you avoid the clumsy and time consuming nature of barcode scanning. Modern systems are also very easy to install and the flexible nature of the hardware means you only need to invest the money and time that you want to.
Choosing a solutions provider that offers both hardware, software and deployment makes it easy for you to pull through the project. One-stop shop providers are also able to offer different kinds of payment setups, such as monthly invoicing instead of a large initial investment when the project starts. This also makes a new system affordable for smaller vendors due to the option of affordable monthly payment installments.
Nordic ID has developed and designed turn- key RFID based self service solutions such as self-checkouts for several customers in the retail industry, spanning from food retail to fashion.
Equipped with Nordic ID Self-Checkout Neste Easy Deli store in Helsinki, Finland
With years of experience of meeting retail customers’ diverse needs, we have developed the most accurate RFID self checkout solution on the market – awarded the most innovative product by Frost & Sullivan in 2019, which reliably scans all items in an instant. Thanks to a highly targeted reading area, the customer can count on paying only for their own items.
Our design is easily customized as the retailer wishes, and we can provide pre-fab technological solutions that we integrate into your existing set up. As the payment solution always is executed according to the customer’s requirement, all options of cashless payment are possible.
Ultimately, setting up an RFID self checkout system in your store is an easy and flexible process that will lead to happier customers and free up your staff for more important tasks, like customer service. Whether you have a large or small business, finding something that suits your budget and fits into the environment of your store is easy. Contact us today to learn more about the perfect solution for your business.
Learn more about self-checkout technology
Download the Case study and learn more about the potential of Nordic ID Self-Checkout via the findings of the pilot projects.
