#CHECKOUT TIME FREE#

'It's spooky, but it's getting more and more accurate,' said Kristen Sebastian, an assistant customer service manager at Kroger's Symmes Township store. The technology was so smart, it made scheduling more efficient. Company officials had thought they'd need – and were willing to pay for – more cashiers if it shaved customer wait time, but it turned out it wasn't necessary. Surprisingly, the cost of staffing didn't rise. Since 2010, Kroger has installed the technology at most of its supermarkets. 'It makes parking lots bigger,' Perry said.

#CHECKOUT TIME FREE#

Because customers get in and out faster, parking spaces free up quickly. Perry said the technology has helped boost sales at smaller urban stores with limited space.

Kroger cited additional benefits besides happier customers. 'If a retailer can simplify the checkout, it's win-win because the shopper can spend more time doing what they want to do, which is buying things they want.' 'Grocery shopping is a time-allotted experience,' he said. Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist for New York consulting firm Booz & Co., said saving customers at checkout means they might spend more time – and money – in the aisles buying food and merchandise. 'There are 7 million shoppers at Kroger stores today – we'll save them 25 million minutes today,' she said. Since the technology was deployed, Kroger's score on customer-satisfaction surveys has improved 42 percent on the speed of checkout, Perry said. Company officials declined to break out sales results from those stores, other than to say they contributed to the grocer's nine-year winning streak boosting sales. Kroger officials said the results were almost immediate – transactions and sales both quickly climbed. The idea was to see if the grocer could time typical shopping visits by store to better schedule workers during busy periods. Looking to boost customer loyalty, Kroger first test marketed 'Que Vision' checkout technology in stores in Toledo in 2009. They included earnings of $481 million in the quarter ending May 25 – the 38th consecutive quarter of profits for the retailer's continuously operating stores. Kroger Chairman and CEO Dave Dillon cited 'inspired, customer first service' for strong financial results announced Thursday. But when they go to leave, you want them out – because if they have to wait, it will change their whole opinion of the store.' 'When people are shopping, you want to keep them in the store. 'Checkout is critical to service – people get mad when they have to wait,' said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a New York consulting firm for the retail industry.

In the past few years, the retailer has quietly widened the use of technology to analyze most popular shopping times to better staff cash registers. 'If we wanted to develop loyalty from our customers, we really had to respect their time and improve the checkout experience.'īy year's end, the nation's largest grocer expects to complete the installation of overhead infrared sensors that count customers in all 2,424 supermarkets operated by Kroger. 'Nobody likes to wait in line,' said Marnette Perry, senior vice president of operations and strategic initiatives at Cincinnati-based Kroger. Getting shoppers through checkout as quickly as possible is key to building customer loyalty – cited by Kroger on Thursday as one reason earnings were up 9.6 percent in the three months ending May 25, compared with the same time a year ago.

With 2%2C424 supermarkets%2C Kroger is nation%27s largest grocerĬINCINNATI - Kroger is touting a new number it says is winning shoppers and adding to the grocer's bottom line: A wait of just 26 seconds to start in the checkout lane, down from 4 minutes a few years ago.

Faster checkouts boost customer loyalty%2C cited as one reason for increased earnings.

Using sensors%2C stores can predict when more checkout lanes will be needed.

Checkout time