{"id":1805,"date":"2025-04-18T14:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=1805"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:04:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T12:04:04","slug":"uk-supermarket-absolutely-convinced-removing-self-checkouts-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/18\/uk-supermarket-absolutely-convinced-removing-self-checkouts-is-better\/","title":{"rendered":"UK supermarket \u2018absolutely convinced\u2019 removing self-checkouts is better"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just when you thought they were here to stay, one supermarket is removing self-service tills. (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘Unexpected item in bagging area’ is a phrase that strikes fear into the heart of many UK supermarket<\/a> shoppers, and frankly, self-service tills<\/a> often drive us mad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, while many big supermarket chains have embraced self-service<\/a> as the future, one northern retailer has been bucking the trend, reportedly seeing impressive results.<\/p>\n

Family-owned grocer Booths has embarked on a mission to remove self-checkout tills from the majority of its 26 stores<\/a>. <\/p>\n

According to its director, this move has led to a rise in customer satisfaction, a reduction in theft, less shrinkage, and other benefits.<\/p>\n

Speaking to industry publication The Grocer<\/a>, MD Nigel Murray said customer satisfaction was up, saying: ‘We’re at 74 now, up from 70 (out of 100).’<\/p>\n

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Booths has 26 stores in the north of England. (Picture: Kevin Walsh \/ Alamy Stock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘Not all of that is due to the fact that we’ve taken self-service checkouts out of many of the stores. But when you look at things like service, into the “promise of things to come” section, we’ve scored brilliantly.’<\/p>\n

Murray was also ‘absolutely convinced’ that Booths had seen an uptick in custom due to the coverage surrounding the move, which began in November 2023.<\/p>\n

Why has Booths removed self-service tills?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Booths removed self-service checkouts in all but two of their busiest stores in a move they originally hoped would cut costs and speed up the time it took to serve their customers<\/strong>, who were expressing frustration at the self-service tills.<\/p>\n

\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Do you like self-service checkouts? Have your say in the comments.<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>‘At the time, it was very much that our customers were telling us they didn’t really like them’, Murray said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In response, instead of installing more self-service machines, Booths chose to increase the number of manned checkouts and invest in staff training.<\/p>\n<p>Murray went on to say: ‘In really simple terms, if you’ve got somebody who is doing a job repetitively for six, seven, eight hours a day, they are going to do it faster and better than if you are just turning up to do it once every three days.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"485\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_247948518-c346.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22931618\" alt=\"2KPNTNG Tomatoes and fresh vegetables on the fresh produce aisle of a Booths supermarket, Ilkley\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Booths hope to improve their customer experience. (Picture: ImageryBT \/ Alamy Stock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>‘So, in terms of speed of service we made sure we invested in having people at the tills to serve customers, and the results are clear.’<\/p>\n<p>While the move was predominantly made with customer experience in mind, a reduction in theft was also described as a ‘happy consequence’ by Murray, as so-called ‘middle-class’ shoplifters incorrectly scanning, weighing, or simply avoiding paying for goods had been a rising problem.<\/p>\n<p>The self-service checkouts will now only be found in their Windermere and Keswick stores, which can see large numbers of tourists during peak season.<\/p>\n<p>If it means we never have to look up our own bakery items again, then, frankly, we’re all for it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just when you thought they were here to stay, one supermarket is removing self-service tills. (Picture: Getty Images) ‘Unexpected item in bagging area’ is a phrase that strikes fear into the heart of many UK supermarket shoppers, and frankly, self-service tills often drive us mad. However, while many big supermarket chains have embraced self-service as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1805"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1805"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1811,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1805\/revisions\/1811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}