DISCUSSION
Wawa goes big on self checkout tech
Written by RetailWire Staff
Photo: Getty Images/aimintang
Retailers and their tech partners have introduced a number of next-gen checkout solutions recently, promising to get shoppers out the door faster than ever. But convenience store Wawa is finding success with an accelerated checkout solution that has been around for a while.
Wawa has added self-scan checkout kiosks in 61 of its locations after a successful pilot, and the kiosks are slated to appear in more stores soon according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. All Wawa locations that open in the future will have a self-checkout option.
While self-scan checkouts have been common in grocery stores since the late 1990’s, opponents point to their downsides.
A study of 13 major UK and U.S. retailers, including Walmart, found that large retailers making half of their sales through self-checkout kiosks stand to lose millions due to theft, according to Newsweek. However, some claim that newer theft prevention solutions give retailers more visibility into the checkout process to cut down on shoplifting.
Over the last decade, new consumer demands for convenience and new technological capabilities have led to the proliferation of a slew of new hands-off/automated checkout solutions.
For instance the Sam’s Club Scan & Go app has proven popular with customers. It allows shoppers to use their personal smartphone to scan the UPC on products while shopping, then pay in-app and show a digital receipt to an associate to confirm payment.
Scan and go technology has not proven successful everywhere, though. Sam’s Club’s mother company, Walmart, ended a pilot of the technology in its mainline stores in 2018.
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, which allows in-store customers to pick up products and leave the store, paying automatically with no scanning or associate interaction, has also begun to be scaled to more locations. Amazon announced last month that it would be launching the technology in two Whole Foods locations, according to Engadget. The technology had previously only been in use in Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores.
- Wawa has added self-checkouts to dozens of stores, and customers are taking notice – The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Self-Checkout – Dixon Object Analysis
- Walmart Worker Shows How They Know When Customers Steal From Self-Checkouts – Newsweek
- Walmart drops scan and go tech, again – RetailWire
- Amazon's cashierless 'Just Walk Out' tech is coming to Whole Foods stores – Engadget