Supermarket and liquor retailer Coles is trialling two hybrid self-checkout systems at its new Southland supermarket in Melbourne, Victoria.
The system is a belted unit that can be switched between self-service and assisted-service mode. Assisted service means that the Coles checkout operator can help the customer to scan and bag grocery items but the customer can also bag items at the same time.
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According to Coles, the NCR system extends the reach of self-checkout to bigger basket sizes.
A Coles spokesman told Computerworld Australia that the trial began on 15 December 2012 when the Southland store opened.
“It’s too early to measure customer feedback but a decision will be made in the coming year on any further rollouts,” he said.
According to NCR, Coles is the first retailer in Asia Pacific to trial the hybrid self-service system.
In addition, the supermarket chain has rolled out over 4000 of the vendor’s self-checkout units in 500 Australian stores since piloting the technology in 2009.
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