Retaining convenience while combating deviance
In late January, 7-Eleven began trialling a self-service mobile application in a Melbourne CBD branch, allowing shoppers to scan products as they shop and seamlessly pay from their phone.1 Given the continuing automation of modern life, shoppers have grown to expect to be able to complete their shopping within minutes all without having to interact with another person. Self-service checkout terminals are becoming more prolific globally, expected to reach 325,000 units by 2019,2 with some retailers like Woolworths trialling stores that are completely self-service.3 Self-service technologies have transformed the retail landscape over the past decade, with 90% ofshoppers aged 18-39 finding the technology easy to use, and 74% of 18-29 year olds preferring to use self-service checkouts where available.4 For retailers however, the phasing out of staffed checkouts has been a catalyst for consumer deviance.
Providing convenience comes at a cost
Last year, a French shopper attempted to steal a PS4 by scanning it through a self-service checkout and fraudulently registering it as a bunch of bananas.5 While an extreme case, in Australia more mundane theft costs retailers $9.3 billion annually, with the increase in self-service checkouts coinciding with a rise in supermarket theft.2 Supermarkets with self-service checkouts are significantly more likely to experience shoplifting (86%) than those without (52%).6 Additionally, consumers are more likely to steal when dealing with an inanimate system instead of a human employee, not only due to the reduced likelihood of being caught but also the removal of the human element that encourages moral behaviour.7 Consumers steal using self-service checkouts in several ways, such as registering more expensive products as cheaper ones or “forgetting” to scan an item.
How can retailers manage self-service deviance?
Retailers have many options to combat theft while retaining overall convenience. Humanising the machines that shoppers interact with has been suggested to assist in triggering moral correctness.7 Subtle details like displaying a friendly greeting or welcoming the shopper by the name registered in their loyalty card can contribute to creating a more human interaction for the consumer, increasing empathy and reducing the temptation of deviant behaviour.
Aside from creating more empathetic connections between machines and customers, there is also new technology being developed in Australia to eliminate self-service theft.Tiliter Technology has developed a product recognition system which uses cameras to automatically identify a product and enter its information into the store’s cashier system.8 In addition, some retailers are trialling new camera technologies that give a bird’s eye view of what customers are doing at the checkout, sending alerts to staff when there are attempts to cheat.9 Amazon’s innovative Amazon Go convenience store applies similar technology to eliminate checkouts entirely. Cameras and sensors in the store automatically detect and track the products selected by customers as they shop, automatically billing them when they exit the store. Amazon’s confidence in their technology’s accuracy is such that they’ve intentionally omitted any official process for shoppers to report unpaid for products that the system has missed.10 While this implementation of self-service is particularly theatrical, retailers need to fully acknowledge and be prepared to manage deviant consumer behaviours around retail self-service.