Woolworths says more than half a million Australians have embraced the new self serve technology since its rollout began less than six months ago and had exceeded expectations, according to Marty Hamnett, Woolworths director of operations.
“More than one third of customers – that’s about half a million people – have used self serve checkouts in the stores where they are installed, way above the 20 per cent we expected. We see this as a testament to how the new checkouts are both fast and easy to use.”
Giving customers complete control over their shopping experience by letting them scan, weigh and pay for their own groceries quickly and easily, the new checkouts accept cash, credit or debit cards and will even dispense mobile phone top up vouchers and allow customers to take cash out.
Woolworths is the first supermarket to introduce self serve checkouts in Australia.
“This is a significant milestone for the installation of the exciting new self serve checkouts at Woolies, which puts us well on the road to rolling out the technology nationwide,” said Marty Hamnett, Woolworths’ director of operations.
Jobs had also proved to be safe with the new technology, said Hamnett.
“Self serve checkouts are an additional service to our customers and have not replaced traditional checkout assistants who remain as valuable to our stores as ever.”
The new checkouts were officially launched at Woolworths Northbridge, in Sydney’s North Shore, in April and are now available in 100 stores nationally, with the rollout of the system nationwide now 13 per cent complete. In the coming weeks, self serve checkouts will arrive in more stores including Dubbo, Mudgeeraba, Albury, Floreat and Toorak.