Evolution of Self-Service Technology in Retail: Opportunities for Researchers and Entrepreneurs

Abstract

This paper discusses how Self-Service Technologies (SST) have helped shoppers as well as retailers to make purchase activity faster and at the same time reliable. Self-Checkout Service (SCS) as a part of SST have evolved throughout these years. SCS have reduced the shopper checkout time drastically with the implementation of new technology systems. Researches have been carried out to study how these technologies have affected customer perception of waiting time during checkout. Factors are discussed which are responsible for customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction due to waiting time. Firms implement cutting-edge technologies to reduce or eliminate checkout waiting time at their retail stores. With the introduction of new systems, need arises to study its positive and negative impact on customer perception of waiting time. Various opportunities are discussed which can be encashed by entrepreneurs with the introduction of new support systems.