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Insider’s report

on payments:

Cashless and cashier-less:

a revolution in the making?

By Patti Murphy out receipts based on the scanner input. I'm a Giant Eagle
ProScribes Inc. customer. I found the shopping option useful but didn't
miss it much when it was abruptly ended about a year later.
ecent reports have me wondering what the
future holds for the point of sale. Amid ongoing Jaszczyk believes the market is better positioned now. "As
claims that cash is going the way of dinosaurs, more vendors offer these types of self-scanning solutions
R news agency Reuters reported that Microsoft and retailers pilot them in their stores, consumer demand
Inc. is developing systems that would eliminate the need will follow as well as increased store revenue," he said. "I
for cashiers and checkout lines. Apparently, the software believe that in three to five years traditional checkout lanes
giant has been shopping the idea around to major retail- will become somewhat of a relic, and we will have a hard
ers around the world, including Walmart Inc., Reuters time remembering what it was even like to stand in line at
reported. the POS."

Microsoft, which has a significant footprint in the retail Call me old-fashioned, but I just don't see widespread
systems market, including ecommerce, is angling to give appeal for cashier-less shopping, and I'm not convinced
Amazon a run for its money. In January 2018, Amazon we'll see anything resembling widespread adoption, at
opened the doors to its first Amazon Go shop, a highly least in the near term. Cashier-less shopping, in my mind,
automated store in Seattle. Amazon Go shoppers scan their is a bit like cashless shopping: it sounds cool, but it's not
smartphones at a turnstile to enter. Cameras and sensors practical as an end game. There always will be people
throughout the store identify what customers remove from who, for any number of reasons, like using cash, just like
the shelves, and Amazon bills the credit cards they have on there will always be folks who prefer the human checkout
file as they leave the store. experience.
While the Reuters report was thin on specifics, it stated There are also practical considerations. Most large retailers
one avenue Microsoft seems to be exploring is to attach already offer self-checkout, but the underlying technologies
cameras to shopping carts to track purchases, which would can be quirky. I use these regularly but am often frustrated
seem to be more economical than the hundreds of cameras by problems that require employee assistance to remedy.
and sensors required by Amazon's approach. On one recent shopping trip, I had to wait for assistance
four times, each time seemingly longer than the previous,
Michael Jaszczyk, CEO of GK Software USA Inc., a Raleigh, as I watched in frustration as a store worker hopped from
N.C., company specializing in integrated store solutions, one self-checkout lane to another remedying scanner and
described the move by Microsoft as a turning point. other problems.
"Microsoft taking on Amazon with cashierless checkout
demonstrates how close we are to a breakout of alternative Consumers' shopping preferences vary, and the variances
'checkout and scanning' processes and applications," he can stem from a range of factors, including where they
said in a statement. "The question now is not if, but when live, lifestyle preferences, socioeconomic standing and
will we see wide range adoption in the market." age. Millennials, for example, seem to like mobile-first,
self-service shopping, while baby boomers are more apt to
The notion of frictionless checkouts is nothing new. It's a appreciate a personal approach.
perennial quest that accounts for much of the momentum
behind mobile payments, for example. And several As Tom Chittenden, Vice President and General Manager
merchants have tested self-scanning, with mixed results. of Retail Solutions at NCR Corp. noted in a recent blog post,
Giant Eagle Inc., a regional grocery chain headquartered understanding and addressing these differences is crucial
in Pittsburgh, began a program about 13 years ago that because baby boomers still have relevant buying power,
allowed customers to scan and bag groceries as they and millennials aren't yet a dominant market force.
shopped, stopping at the checkout merely to pay and print

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