Reduce Lines at Supermarkets with a Grocery Store Kiosk

Long lines are a daily struggle for many grocers trying to compete in a time of historic labor shortages. The cost of keeping several registers open at once, as well as fluctuations in foot traffic, make the checkout process prone to a poor customer experience.

To help reduce lines and offset the burden of labor shortages, grocery stores can turn to a straightforward solution: self-service kiosks. 

Long lines lead to a bad customer experience

Customer experience is more important than ever, and a long line at checkout is a core cause of a bad customer experience. A recent study found that 39% of shoppers left a store without making a purchase due to long lines. Further, only 23% of respondents said they were satisfied with the length of checkout lines. 

In grocery stores, the checkout line is only one potential source of frustration. Long lines at the deli counter are also a point of frustration for shoppers at the supermarket. 

Grocery store kiosks reduce lines and improve customer experience

Self-service technology has grown in terms of retail adoption and popularity among consumers in recent years. The large, unintuitive self-checkout machines of years past are being replaced by sleek, easy-to-use interactive kiosks that can serve a range of purposes, from ordering to checkout and even in-aisle price checking and product discovery.

The majority of shoppers (85%) say that self-service kiosks are usually faster than waiting in line. However, aside from the speed and ease of use, many shoppers simply prefer to avoid interacting with associates. Sixty percent of respondents in one recent survey said they would prefer to use a self-checkout over a traditional checkout if given the choice. 

How to choose self-service kiosks for your grocery stores

When it comes to selecting and deploying self-service experiences, there are a few considerations to make first. 

Modern grocery store kiosks are built to work with your existing IT infrastructure, so you’ll want to decide between iOS, Windows, or Android-based solutions. 

When determining the features you need, it’s also important to plan ahead. Kiosks that can be updated with the latest and emerging payment methods will have a longer lifespan and therefore a lower total cost of ownership. The same can be said for compatibility with leading printers. 

If you are hoping to deploy self-service for different experiences throughout your store—deli ordering and self-checkout, for instance—then ideally you will want a platform that supports both solutions. 

However, since your checkout kiosks might look different from your ordering kiosks, a grocery store kiosk that offers different mounting options—floor stands, table mounts, etc.—is the most likely to be a good fit. 

For stores that sell alcoholic beverages, a grocery store kiosk with ID scanning capabilities will make the checkout process faster, reducing lines and improving the customer experience.

Aila’s Interactive Kiosk for grocery stores

 The Interactive Kiosk for iPad provides all of the flexibility needed for self-service experiences across the supermarket environment. With leading customers like Ahold (Stop & Shop, Giant), Metro, Meijer, and Big Lots, Aila’s grocery store kiosk is ideal for a range of customer experiences across your stores. 

Get the free Stop & Shop deli ordering case study to learn more: