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Asda to increase staff presence at checkouts, reducing reliance on self-service tills

August 11, 2024

Supermarket chain Asda is considering whether to cut the pay of 7,000 staff in the south east of England to bring it in line with its other stores.

Asda has announced plans to increase the number of staff on manned checkouts across its stores, acknowledging that it has reached the limit with self-service tills.

While the supermarket giant maintains that self-checkouts work well for many customers, it has decided to invest additional hours into providing more human-operated tills.

Michael Gleeson, Asda’s chief financial officer, noted that the retailer has found the right balance between self-service options and traditional checkouts. “I think we have reached a level of self-checkouts and scan and go where we feel that works best for our customers, and we feel we’ve got the balance just about right,” Gleeson said. He clarified that this move is not about adding more checkouts but rather about increasing the number of staff available to assist customers at existing manned tills.

This shift comes amidst a broader industry trend where some retailers, such as northern supermarket chain Booths, have eliminated most of their self-service tills, citing a preference for the personal touch that staff can provide. Booths stated that “colleagues serving customers delivers a better customer experience.”

The decision by Asda also reflects feedback from customers who have encountered difficulties with self-service tills. Pennie Orger, who is registered blind, shared her experience: “I am severely sight impaired – registered blind – so, self-service tills are a non-starter. My guide dog is clever, but not that clever.” Similarly, deaf shoppers have reported challenges with self-service checkouts, which rely on verbal instructions.

Asda emphasized that the increase in manned checkout staff is not related to concerns about shoplifting, despite a recent rise in theft across England and Wales. Last year, shoplifting offences reached their highest level in 20 years, with 430,000 incidents recorded by police.

The origin of self-service checkouts dates back to the invention of the automated teller machine (ATM) in 1967, with the first self-service tills introduced in the 1980s by David Humble. These tills became increasingly popular throughout the 1990s, and by 2021, there were 325,000 self-service checkouts in stores worldwide, including approximately 80,000 in UK supermarkets alone.

As Asda rolls out this change over the remainder of the year, customers can expect to see more staff available at checkouts, enhancing the in-store shopping experience and providing greater support for those who prefer or need human assistance.