Self-Checkout Transactions to Approach $450 Billion Annually by 2008

A corrected press release from IHL Consulting says that:

Self-service shopping has gone mainstream in supermarkets, supercenters and home improvement centers as self-checkout systems will generate transactions worth $161 billion in 2005, according to a new study from IHL Consulting Group.

The study also forecasts that the value of these transactions will increase to over $450 billion by 2008 as many more systems are deployed in the next few years.

"Consumers continue to use the systems in increasing numbers," said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Consulting Group, an analyst firm and consultancy that serves retailers and retail technology vendors. "Once a technology only found in supermarkets in the South and Midwest, self-checkout is now available in retailers like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Home Depot and Lowe's nationwide. This has not only expanded the number of lanes in the market but also increased the dollar amount of each transaction."

The "2005 North American Retail Self-Checkout Study," available today, reports on consumer acceptance and use of self-checkout systems. Price of the report is $1,995.

Key questions researched included the following:

1. What do consumers like or dislike about self-checkout systems?

2. How often do consumers use self-checkout when it's available?

3. Are their differences based on age, gender or region in accepting the technology?

4. Are consumers more or less likely to shop at retailers that have self-checkout?

5. Is there a union effect? Are consumers in states with strong cashier unions less likely to accept self-checkout or is it simply a factor of the unionized stores?

6. Are consumers interested in a handheld or cart-based scan and bag technology?

You can check out the rest of the release (including a link to purchase the report) here.