Blakemore Retail said it has started trialling self-service checkouts at its Bannerbrook SPAR store.
Three card-only self-scan tills, first introduced on 2 July, are processing around 30 per cent of all transactions as of 23 July, the retailer added.
“Customers have taken to using the self-service checkouts straight away,” commented Sharon Nulty, store manager.
“About a third of the 1,000 customers who pass through our store each day are now using them, and we expect this to increase further as people get more confident with them.
“The checkouts are really user-friendly, and in the long-term, when more customers can use them without staff assistance, we expect them to speed up transactions and free up time for colleagues to spend elsewhere in the store.”
The retailer said the self-service tills “are not intended” to replace traditional checkouts. The Bannerbrook store has two normal tills operating alongside them.
The new tills are particularly popular with lower-spend customers, as the average spend at the traditional tills was still 58 per cent higher.
In the third week of the trial, the service has been used by more than 2,000 customers, with the average spend being around £5.
The store has also installed screens between the checkouts to enforce social distancing.
