At least two supermarkets in Jinan quietly "test water" self-service cash register

"In Shandong, many supermarkets have entered the machine, but the supermarket is not used, and only a few are used. It is also tested first. Now other supermarkets, including RT-Mart, are also observing and preparing to introduce them." Related persons from equipment manufacturers told the Economic Herald reporter on the 7th.

Jinxi Hualian Group Executive President Chen Xizhong said in an interview with the Economic Herald on the 8th, "In 2017, our first store introduced a self-service cash register, and the effect is very good. In 2018, we plan to have three or four main stores. Introduce (self-service cash register). "

Used by 6 groups of customers within 10 minutes

There is no cashier. After shopping, customers scan the goods and pay by self-service cash register. This self-service billing method is not a new thing in some cities in China, but it started relatively late in Shandong. "Self-checkout equipment is used more in the south, and Shandong is not too much." The self-service cash register equipment manufacturer said.

The Economic Herald reporter recently noticed at Jiajiayue Sunshine 100 store on Sunshine New Road in Jinan that a self-service cash register area was added next to the supermarket's common cash register channel, and a total of three self-service cash register machines were laid out. Customers can choose after shopping. Traditional manual checkout or self-checkout.

The height of this self-service cash register machine is about 1.5 meters. The top is the touch screen, the bottom is the code scanning platform, and there is also a bagging table on the side to scan the barcode of the goods.

"The self-service cash register has been produced for several generations, and the price is different. Usually the price of a machine is tens of thousands of dollars." The above-mentioned self-service cash register equipment source told the Economic Herald reporter.

At less than 8 o'clock on the evening of the 6th, the reporter of the Economic Herald observed that at home, Yueyang 100 stores, within 10 minutes, a total of 6 groups of customers chose a self-service cash register to check out. In addition, another group of customers returned to the supermarket due to the inability to scan the code of a product, and did not complete the checkout; another group of customers who pushed a cart full of goods, hesitated before walking to the machine, and finally chose the manual cash register channel.

At the weekend, supermarkets had more customers than usual. There were three checkout counters in the manual checkout channel, and several customers were waiting in line.

Afterwards, the reporter of the Economic Herald went to the self-service cash register after selecting the commodities in this supermarket to experience it: the entire settlement process is mainly divided into two steps, namely, commodity scanning and payment.

Before self-checkout, customers need to select "Member" or "Non-Member" on the display. "Member" can scan the membership card or enter the mobile phone number; after that, point the barcode of the product to the infrared area below to scan one by one. The product information is displayed on the display.

Does not support cash payment

One detail is that the scanned goods need to be placed on the bagging table on the side of the machine.

"The machine is loss-proof. The bagging station is actually a loss-prevention scale. After scanning the goods, if it is not put on the loss-prevention scale, it will call the police." The above self-service cash register equipment manufacturer told the Economic Herald reporter. It is reported that this weighing and loss prevention platform can sense the weight of the goods and compare it with the background commodity information to prevent loss.

After the goods are placed on the bagging table, you can directly click on the payment on the screen to enter the payment link. The Economic Herald reporter noted that the payment methods available at the self-service cash register in the 100 stores of Yuejia Sunshine include stored-value cards, bank cards, Alipay and WeChat, which do not support cash payments. Point the mobile phone payment code to the scanning platform or insert a bank card to pay. After completing the payment, the cash register automatically prints out the shopping receipt.

On the whole, in this supermarket, the threshold for using self-checkout is relatively low. If there are not many purchases and skilled operation, the payment can usually be completed within one or two minutes.

However, it is worth mentioning that in supermarkets in some cities in China, there are still certain thresholds for using self-service cash registers. For example, you need to apply for a VIP membership card or download related apps to use, which may reduce self-checkout to a certain extent. System usage.

The Economic Herald reporter saw that most of the self-checkout devices are young consumer groups who use Alipay, WeChat and other payment methods; due to the inability to pay in cash, older customers still choose to wait in line for manual checkout.

"Self-help" is not "no one"

In Jinan, the pilot self-checkout model is also the Jinan Hualian Supermarket Jiahua Store on Jinger Road in the city. Currently, this is also the first Jinan supermarket to introduce self-service cash register equipment.

At less than 12 noon on the 7th, the Economic Herald reporter came to this Hualian supermarket and saw that on the side of the traditional artificial cash register, there are 6 self-service cash registers that support UnionPay cards, stored value cards, WeChat, Alipay, QQ wallet and other payment methods.

The supermarket staff told the Economic Herald that the users of the self-service cash register are mainly young customers. Since it is a working day, most of the customers in the supermarket are elderly people. In the manual checkout channel, two elderly people are queuing in each of the three open artificial cash registers.

The Economic Herald reporter also noticed that neither Jiajiayue nor Jinan Hualian, although self-checking out, are not "unmanned." The self-service cash register area of ​​these two supermarkets is equipped with a staff member. If the customer is not familiar with the operation or has operation problems, the staff will come forward to assist.

"The staff is mainly looking at the operation of the machine there and assisting customers to use the machine." A person from the marketing department of Jinan Hualian told a reporter on the 7th of the Economic Herald.

The Economic Herald reporter also observed that if customers choose to self-checkout at the Yueyang 100 store in their homes, they need to walk out of the supermarket through the loss prevention door to checkout; in Jinan Hualian Supermarket, after self-checkout, customers check out the same as at the artificial cash register. Need to go out of the supermarket through the exit of the loss prevention door again, and a staff member is at the exit, responsible for checking the goods and stamping the shopping receipt.

"There is no special arrangement for loss prevention, because the self-service checkout area and the artificial cash register are integrated, and there is already a loss prevention system." The person from the marketing department of Jinan Hualian told the Economic Herald reporter.

Speaking of the self-service cash register system, the relevant person of Jiajiayue told the Economic Herald reporter that the management is still improving.

From concept to implementation, self-checkout brings physical retail changes. However, if this new shopping experience model is to be further promoted, it still faces problems such as management.

"Self-checkout is not an unmanned supermarket, someone must watch it." The above self-checkout equipment manufacturer said to the Economic Herald reporter, "Although the machine has loss prevention, the scanned goods cannot be paid without being placed on the loss prevention scale. But if customers do n’t scan, it ’s impossible. ”

"Many supermarkets are still watching"

"Now, the self-service cash register is mainly used in supermarkets with large passenger flow, in order to improve efficiency." The above-mentioned self-service cash register equipment source told the Economic Herald reporter.

Regarding the introduction of self-service cash register, Chen Xizhong told the Economic Herald reporter that on the one hand, under the background of diversified payment methods, this is a new and convenient settlement method, especially on holidays or weekends, customers who purchase fewer products can pass Self-checkout completes payment quickly, without queuing, which saves time and improves efficiency.

"On the other hand, in the long run, labor costs are getting higher and higher. Self-service cash register is a direction. We are also exploring ways." Chen Xizhong told the Economic Herald reporter that this is also a way to introduce new technologies. It is currently a trial period.

"When there are many people in the queue, the usage rate is relatively high." The marketing department of Jinan Hualian told the Economic Herald reporter, "We also mainly consider trying new technologies to bring convenience to customers and save money. Labor costs."

According to Gu Songtao, head of the computer department of Jinan Hualian, “to count on shifts, there are only 4 people in the self-service cash register area per day, and 12 people if it is a 6-person cash register. Cash register efficiency saves labor costs. "

Regarding the application of new technologies, Jiajiayue mentioned in the 2017 annual report released last month, "Further improve the service function through new technical means such as mobile payment and unmanned collection." It also said, "In 2018, It is necessary to grasp the expansion of smart mini supermarkets with unmanned intelligent vending machines as the main body, and more than 200 smart micro supermarkets will be opened in 2018. "

Renovating the traditional retail industry with new technologies is a trend that embraces new retail, but it will take a process to completely change the original cash register pattern.

"From the perspective of self-service cash registers, Shandong supermarkets still use too little. On the one hand, people's concepts have not changed so fast; on the other hand, it is also considered that mainly young people use more Alipay payment. "The above self-service cash register equipment manufacturer told the Economic Herald reporter that many supermarkets are still watching.