Checkout Free Systems in 2024: What is it & How does it work?

It is estimated that adults spend 33 days of their lives at the cashier queues in the stores. Recent technologies in computer vision and machine learning have been applied to improve the traditional shopping experiences of consumers. In this article, you can get a grasp of the checkout-free systems inside out.

What are Check-out Free Systems? 

Every day people complain about queueing while shopping offline. Technology players, like Amazon, combine computer vision, machine learning, and a plethora of sensors to deliver checkout-free stores. 

Checkout free systems, also called cashierless checkout, are autonomous checkout systems that detect customers’ choice of products and bill them for these products at the end of their shopping experience. There are various solutions to determine and invoice the purchase, such as QR Codes, Smart Shopping Carts, RFID tags, and machine vision. 

How do checkout-free systems work?

1. Machine vision: The entire checkout is software-based. Cameras can capture individuals’ movements of picking up products from the shelves. Then, machine learning algorithms (e.g. image recognition) assign goods to shoppers accurately.
   1. The entire association is done through an app on the customer’s phone. When individuals arrive at the store, the app on the phone links them to the store and automatically initiates the shopping experience. Once customers are done, it sends the bill or performs immediate payment transactions.
   2. In this system, cameras are considered both functional and economical since they are already common for security reasons. In other words, security is guaranteed under a checkout-free system, optimizing the overall cost of the security and checkout system.  
2. QR Codes: In this system, stores display the QR codes of the goods. Customers shop online first. When they decide on products, they click on the QR codes in store windows. Finally, they come to collect their order.
   1. The applications of QR codes are already typical as it is easier for many stores to settle. Thus, the number of grocery stores with QR codes is increasing across the world. Specifically, after COVID-19, people tend to shop through QR codes due to health and safety reasons. Customers also prefer the system since it decreases the time lost at cashier queues that are longer than average in many countries where COVID-19 restrictions were apparent.  
3. RFID Tags: Radio-frequency identification (RIFD) is one of the technologies which emerged for military purposes and evolved into a commercial tool. RFID allows tracking and identifying physical objects. In recent decades, RFID gained importance in the retail industry. By using radio waves, RFID tracks the product that was labeled before, then it transfers the data from the tags, which are small chips, to a reader. This data is stored, evaluated, and processed in an asset / inventory tracking system. Today, mobile devices or a handheld scanner serve as a reader. Once the customer’s bag is full, they complete shopping by paying on their mobile phones.
   1. There are numerous types of RFID implementations. Retailers are recommended to decide based on the needs of their stores. They can arrange the scan distance, chip type, and frequency of these RFIDs.
   2. RFID systems are not solely advantageous to downsize the time at the checkout line. They also serve to ease the stock checks taking the time of workers and customers in many cases.  
4. Smart Carts: Smart Cart program has been around for more than three years now. In this system, the stores have carts that are equipped with smart touchscreens.
   1. While shopping, customers fill the cart. The camera at the cart’s screen will scan, weigh and link items. Finally, customers check out when the shopping is complete by paying directly to the cart’s card reader next to the screen. 

What are the benefits of checkout-free systems?

1. Checkout free systems, as their name suggests, aims to reduce the period at the queues. The self-checkouts and scanning were developed for the same reasons. The technology in this field keeps expanding. You can find these technologies in the comprehensive guide about self-checkout systems. Yet, checkout-free systems were reported as faster shopping processes. In a test session, they increased sales revenues by $37.7 billion.
   1. They save financial resources and generate higher profits. For example, checkout-free stores do not need much personnel working as traditional cashiers and merchants. These people are reallocated or decreased in numbers. 
   2. Additionally, most of these systems reduce the investment for security resources. Tracking systems or cameras linking items with individuals’ phones restrict shoplifting, which stores suffer the most. 
2. Store owners can leverage the extra space that is created once checkout hardware and lines are removed.
3. The tracked movement will create item and individual-level data, allowing retailers to reach robust empirics on item movement and purchasing behavior, and optimize inventory accordingly.    

Who are the technology players?

Amazon, Sam’s Club, and Albertsons are the major thriving checkout-free technology stores. Also, there are emerging technology players like Standard Cognition and Wheelys targeting smaller retailers. These players develop various checkout systems based on smart phone apps.

Other retail technologies

Retailer can benefit from numerous AI technologies today, such as:

• Chatbots are software applications conducting an online chat conversation via text or text-to-speech. They provide quick, personal and convenient support, 24/7 to customers.
• Analytics are used to analyze all customer service activities. Analytics help learning costs and improving service quality.
• Customer agents matches customers and agents according to the needs and required expertise.
• Biometrics allow customer authentication to improve customer satisfaction.

To explore other AI technologies used for enhancing customer service, feel free to read our in-depth article 11 AI Use cases in Customer Service

If you believe your business will benefit from these technologies, let us help you find the right vendor: