Abstract
For grocery stores, self-service checkout systems are a convenient option since they save costs for suppliers as only a few employees are required at the store. Self-service checkout systems typically allow customers to scan, pack, as well as pay for their goods with minimal help from the store attendant. It is imperative that such a system has the right functional and non-functional features, an aspect which forms the basis of this paper. This paper provides a list of questions that are needed in determining these features. The functional requirements for a grocery shop include that the system must have an engaging, friendly and self-guided user interface, allow experienced customers to skip certain steps, allow the customers to scan and bag multiple items simultaneously, and also allow customers to understand various identification technologies. The non-functional requires include high processing speed, fast response time and a fast, easy and personalized user interface.
Self-service systems are increasingly becoming popular in the contemporary world. As individuals continue interacting with these self-service systems such as ATMs on a day-to-day basis, they become more and more familiar with them, a factor that has led to further proliferation of this kind of systems. This has led suppliers to create self-service systems in the retail industry especially for use in grocery checkouts which allow customers to scan, pack, and pay with minimal employee assistance. However, the customer acceptance rate for such a system has been found to be low, with some instances where shoppers have reject them altogether (McMillin, 2011). Additionally, such self-service check-out systems are poorly optimized physical-challenged customers. The self-checkout systems tend to provide more benefits to the grocers since they help them employ fewer employees thus saving costs. This paper explores the functional and non-functional requirements of a self-checkout system. It emphasizes the need to design a system that is user-friendly and ergonomically fit for all types of users. To complete this paper, a review of possible actions was distributed to the customers who then went ahead to ensure that the user requirements reflected their needs.
The ideal goal of a self-checkout system is to ensure that customers have an easier and quicker way of purchasing groceries from a grocery shop than in a traditional method where they are served by a cashier.
Among the questions that a customer needs to answer include;
Where exactly do I need to place my basket or cart? The emphasis should be behind the scanner, on the front side of the scanner, in my hands and on a basket shelf.
Which is the order through which I need to scan my items? The emphasis is on pricing order, bagging plan or by the location of an item in the cart.
What is the most convenient payment method for a customer such as cash, money order, check, or credit card?
Should the customer use the menu or should they enter a barcode in order to input the barcode of their goods? The emphasis is to use either of the methods.
The customer must also find out whether they have a coupon and how they can use it.
Lastly, how should the customer arrange the bagged items by weight, size or hot/cold?
The main issues that may result in errors include when a customer falsely believes that an item has been scanned or overlooks the item thus resulting to accidental shoplifting. The customer may select a wrong item thus resulting in underpayment or overpayment. The customers may find it hard to locate the barcode of an item which may result to several rotations which may destroy the item. When a customer does not locate the UPC code, they require an employee to assist them. The customer may also find it difficult to find the produce on their screen.
For the questions and the possible sources of errors that were identified, some of the functional requirements that were identified for a grocery self-checkout system include:
The system must be self-guided, have an engaging user interface, and be friendly (McMillin, 2011). This can be provided by the system having voice and visual guides thus providing customers with guidelines to each step they take in a transaction.
Naturally, customers may want to scan as well as bag two items simultaneously (Pinto-Coelho, Hand & Rothstein, 1996). This has the implication that the system must allow this feature.
The system must also allow customers who may be experienced with the system to skip steps that are unnecessary and only swipe their credit card to complete a transaction.
Once a customer associates with a transaction, they must receive loyalty points and coupons.
They can also pay for their goods using a biometric fingerprint reader.
The system must also allow consumers to appreciate and understand various identification technologies including biometric readers, barcode scanners, and magnetic stripe readers.
Among the non-functional requirements that the self-checkout system for the grocery include;
The system must have high processing speeds and fast response times so as to maximize throughput.
The system should reduce footprint so as to optimally allow the grocery to optimize the floor space.
The self-checkout system needs to improve security and cash management.
The system must have an easy, fast, and a personalized user interface and should minimize the distance between scanning and bagging processes.
Lastly, the store employees should receive automated emails when shoppers require assistance. This should also be reflected in the event where the system needs to be maintained.
References
McMillin, K. (2011). Universally-Designed Grocery Self-Checkout Systems.
Pinto-Coelho, L. W., Hand, W. L., & Rothstein, A. T. (1996). An Analysis of Retail Self-Checkout Systems for the Defense Commissary Agency (No. LMI-CA502R1). LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT INST MCLEAN VA.
