PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) – A newly released study by researchers at Drexel University published in the Journal of Business Research has found another problem with self-checkout: fading customer loyalty.
The study found that “regular checkout” – the kind featuring a human cashier – makes customers more loyal to a store and more likely to revisit in the future than self-checkout. The study comes as some companies remove self-checkout machines and others adjust their self-checkout operations.
Customers feel more rewarded by a store and “feel like they were treated more valuably” when using regular checkout because it involves less effort and cashiers handle the scanning, bagging and payment process, the Drexel researchers found.
Regular checkout also makes customers feel that they are receiving the service they are entitled to as customers of that store, the study found.
“The saved effort during the checkout process and the customers’ sense of entitlement explain the effect of checkout type on customer loyalty,” the study said.