A supermarket chain which became Britain’s first to return to fully-staffed checkouts after axing most of its self-service till has revealed what customers really think of their bold decision.
Going against the grain, Booths made the decision to ignore what rival supermarkets were doing by favouring staffed tills over self-service checkouts in November 2023.
All but two of the chain’s 27 upmarket stores have made the change in a bid to improve customers’ experience.
Nigel Murray, managing director of Booths, has now revealed how customers are responding to their decision.
He revealed that the move has helped play a major role in driving customer satisfaction up at Booths, which has previously been dubbed the ‘Waitrose of the North’.
Mr Murray told The Grocer: ‘We’re at 74 now, up from 70 (out of 100). Not all of that is due to the fact that we’ve taken self-service checkouts out of many of the stores.
‘But when you look at things like service, into the ‘promise of things to come’ section, we’ve scored brilliantly.’
The Booths boss also revealed that the supermarket chain, whose headquarters is in Lancashire, has brought a reduction in theft and a faster checkout experience.
All but two Booths stores will put staff back on the tills following the decision (file image)
Booths made the decision to ignore what rival supermarkets were doing by favouring staffed tills over self-service checkouts in November 2023. Pictured: Booths, Keswick
He added: ‘Because in really simple terms if you’ve got somebody who is doing a job repetitively for six, seven, eight hours a day, they are going to do it faster and better than if you are just turning up to do it once every three days.
‘Over the last year, where we’ve put more self checkouts in, we’re always making sure that the traditional kind of belted checkout is there.’
Booths was founded in 1847 by Edwin Henry Booth and has remained a family owned and run business ever since.
From a single shop to the present day, the company now has 28 stores across the north, employing around 3,000 people.
The decision to return to fully-staffed checkouts came at a time when many supermarket chains are bringing more self-checkouts into their stores.
Last month, Tesco continued to rollout further self-checkout measures with their new Scan As You Shop measure.
While some were delighted with the technologically-advanced new system, many likened it to airport security, and some thought the move was a step ‘too far’ from traditional, staffed tills and described it as ‘dystopian’.
Tesco has rolled out the Scan As You Shop (SAYS) system in a select number of stores across the UK.
Shoppers pick up a scanning device when they enter the store, and then they scan each item as they put it in their trolley or basket.
When they have finished, they can pay for all their items without having to scan them through the staffed or self-serve checkouts.
Upon paying, SAYS customers may be randomly selected for a ‘service check’ where a staff member makes sure each item has been processed correctly.
The new checkouts are said to weigh the trolleys of those using SAYS to ensure the weight is the same as the items scanned.
Meanwhile, last year Sainsbury’s claimed its shoppers love their self checkout machines and value the ‘speedy checkout’.
Boss Simon Roberts said that Sainsbury’s had invested in more self checkouts in recent years but was committed to having non-automated belt checkouts as well.
Discussing the importance of self checkouts last April, Mr Roberts said: ‘If you visit one of our supermarkets, what you’ll see is definitely more self checkouts than a number of years ago, because actually a lot of customers like the speedy checkout.
Booths managing director Nigel Murray said the move has helped play a major role in driving customer satisfaction up
A shopper at Booths, which was founded in 1847 and now has 27 stores across the North
‘Over the last year, where we’ve put more self checkouts in, we’re always making sure that the traditional kind of belted checkout is there.’
Other supermarket chains in the UK, including Amazon Fresh use ‘Just Walk OUt’ technology which uses cameras, sensors and AI to track what customers have picked up and bought.
It allows customers to walk out with their items without using a self-checkout or a fully-staffed till.
