Much as the web upended the retail landscape with its emphasis on automation through data and algorithms, so too has automation increasingly come for the brick and mortar stores that remain. From robotic janitors to automated self-checkout kiosks to realtime tracking of customers through cameras and mobile apps, physical stores are increasingly turning to the same digital tools as the online world to turn their customers into data and remove human workers from the equation. Yet, as stores replace human staff with brittle automatic touchpoints, this increasing overreliance on automation risks pushing their remaining customers to their online competitors.
As policymakers and the general public have become more aware of the massive surveillance state that the modern web has become, one common recommendation that has surfaced over the past year has been for people to do their shopping in physical stores, rather than online, to avoid being tracked. Yet, this recommendation is unfortunately dead wrong, as an increasing number of stores track their customers through their mobile phones and surveillance camera networks, including using facial recognition, while credit card and loyalty card numbers are used to connect purchases directly to the individual making them.
There is simply no escaping the modern surveillance state.
Yet, it is the push towards automated self-checkout kiosks that has proven both a boon for harried shoppers looking for a fast and streamlined checkout experience and a quagmire for stores that rely too heavily on brittle technology to manage the most important touchpoint of the shopping experience.
Two major stores in my own neighborhood have introduced automated checkout kiosks and their differing experiences demonstrate the critical importance of retaining the human element even in the face of automation.
One store introduced automated checkout kiosks when they opened three years ago. For the first two years, the company fully staffed its human checkout counters, meaning the automated checkout kiosks were primarily the domain of shoppers with just a few items or those looking to avoid long lines. The human checkout clerks kept a close eye on the kiosks and would quickly resolve any errors.
Over time, however, the store became increasingly reliant on the automated kiosks to the point that over the past year they frequently have only a single checkout clerk both checking customers out and managing all of the kiosks. During the evenings there are often extended periods of up to half an hour where there are simply no human checkout clerks, with only an odd employee or security guard roaming the front to prevent shoplifting, but not helping with checkouts.
Unfortunately, many tasks, from redeeming coupons to purchasing alcohol, require a human clerk’s override code. Moreover, the kiosks frequently fail. From being unable to scan a barcode to failing to recognize an item to failing to record an item being placed in a checkout bag to failing to read a credit card to simply encountering an unknown error, automated checkout kiosks are still extremely brittle pieces of technology. At the store in question, of the five automated kiosks, at least three are out of order for long stretches on a typical day until a clerk wanders over and resets them. Many evenings all but one kiosk is out of order due to technology errors and sometimes all five automated units are inoperable, with no checkout clerks to take over, leaving customers to wander the store in search of an errant staff member to call someone to the front.
Speaking with a store manager, the apparent culprit is the parent company’s push to reduce staffing by replacing human staff with automated systems, without recognizing that those automated systems are not nearly sufficiently reliable or robust to operate without human oversight.
In contrast, another major local store recently underwent a renovation in which it replaced the majority of its human checkout lines with automated kiosks. On a typical day it has only a single human checkout line and a separate dedicated staff member overseeing the automated kiosks. The automated kiosks, despite being latest generation units, suffer from all of the same failures as the other store, but the presence of a full-time operator ensures that problems are resolved reasonably quickly. Speaking with one of the operators, she noted that the units experience nearly continuous problems. Indeed, the store actually closes the automated kiosks during periods when it does not have sufficient staffing for a dedicated attendant. Yet, even with a human attendant, the machines are extremely frustrating, frequently failing to register than an item has been placed in the bag, often requiring the shopper to start over again even with the attendant’s override.
In our rush towards ever greater automation of society, it is important to recognize that automated systems, even those as mature as self-checkout kiosks, are still far from infallible. The online world’s ability to automate the shopping experience does not always perfectly translate to the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of the physical world. Replacing an army of checkout clerks with rows of automated kiosks may seem like a perfect cost-cutting move for a large store. Unfortunately, when that technology malfunctions, it still requires human intervention to get things back on track. The more friction physical stores create during the checkout process, the more they risk pushing their customers to the online world’s point-and-click simplicity.
Putting this all together, as the physical world increasingly turns to automation, it must recognize that even the most mature automation technologies are still imperfect and those that are customer-facing require human supervision. A row of kiosks can allow a smaller staff to assist a larger number of customers, but today’s kiosks cannot entirely replace all human contact. Perhaps as future checkout technology like Amazon's Go matures, this equation will change, but for the time being, robust human-free automated checkout is still merely a future dream.
In the end, we are not yet at the point where technology is ready for the entirely employee-free store of science fiction and corporate dreams and as companies push too hard towards automation, they risk pushing their remaining customers towards their online competitors.
