As a person who has spent the last 30 years helping customer-facing clients deliver exceptional customer experiences, I find myself always observing how brands deliver on their customer experience and where their execution falls flat. Last week I wrote about my experience of buying an ice cream cone using a self-serve order kiosk. This week I’m going to look at the 'self-serve checkout'. The self-serve checkout is nothing new; it began showing up in the 1990’s and although the technology has advanced over the years, it’s just not there yet. It’s such a frustrating experience that only 11% of Canadian shoppers use self-serve checkout regularly. The self-serve checkout was designed to speed up the customer's checkout process while saving the retailer costs. So far, retailers might be the clear winners, but the customer is left holding the bag since the experience causes more friction than help. Reducing customer friction is increasingly the only thing a brand, organization, or marketplace can do to win ongoing customer loyalty. If reducing or eliminating friction points are not addressed, customers will find a different brand that will make it easy for them to buy from.
Comments