Technology and retailing – is self-service a viable business model?

Retailers from banks to supermarkets are introducing technology which encourages customers to serve themselves.  In our experience from talking to thousands of customers, good customer service comes from motivated and helpful staff, not clever technology.  And what concerns me is that, increasingly, the technology which is being introduced actually disempowers and demotivates staff and reduces the opportunities they have to help customers.
I see two clear technological routes for success in retailing in the next decade, but the viability of the self-service route is much less clear.

Internet shopping

One rapidly growing route which is exploiting the advances in communication technology is online shopping, which some companies now do well, although according to the Centre for Retail Research, this still accounted for less than 10% of sales in the UK 2009.  Well designed websites can offer a great customer experience, but in my view this will never be sufficient for products you need to try on, play with the buttons or check the ripeness.

Excellent, personalised service

The other successful route is personalised service with trained staff who are empowered by the systems and able to find ways round problems to give customers excellent service. 

Self-service technology

The less clear middle route involves introducing systems and technology which deskill staff and limit their role to machine minding and troubleshooting.  Increasingly, supermarkets,  banks and even my local library are installing self-serve service tills and banking machines “in order to offer their customers choice”.   Many customers like the apparent feeling of control and we have observed shoppers who are convinced the self service till was quicker (even though the queue at the regular till was actually faster).

Not surprisingly, customers, using the scanners and devices infrequently, often get into difficulties so there needs to be a member of staff (typically one per four tills – of which, one always seems be faulty at any time).  This person is necessary but I cannot believe it is a very satisfying job.  It must be difficult to remain motivated and helpful when faced with irritated self-servers who have run into problems.

It’s a bit like the early days of office automation, where technology was poured into offices to help staff be more productive yet its adverse effect on the environment (especially space, heat and noise) made offices difficult places to think.

I can’t see how this self-service route can deliver the kind of customer service excellence which many in the retail sector claim to aspire to.  So it will be interesting to see if this route survives or, as office automation has done, how it changes in order to survive.

Tom Stewart, Executive Chairman System Concepts Ltd

If you would like to find out more about how an ergonomic approach can improve the retail experience for both staff and customers, please contact us.