Self checkout vs traditional checkout
Every store has the same problem on a busy day: more shoppers want to pay than there are counters. There are two broad ways to handle it. You can add more cashiers and counters, or you can let shoppers check themselves out. This guide compares the two honestly.
Traditional checkout
A cashier scans every item at a billing counter with a POS terminal. It is familiar to every shopper and handles everything, including weighed goods, big trolleys and cash. The cost is staff on every counter, every shift, and queues that grow faster than you can open counters at peak times.
Self checkout
Shoppers scan their own items. There are two main types:
- Self checkout kiosks: machines in the store where shoppers scan and pay. They need to be bought, need floor space and maintenance, and shoppers can still queue for them.
- Mobile self checkout, or scan and pay: shoppers scan on their own phone while they shop and pay in an app. There is no machine to buy. See how scan and pay works.
Side by side
| Traditional counter | Self checkout kiosk | Scan and pay on the phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront hardware | POS terminal per counter | Kiosk machines | None |
| Staff needed | Cashier per counter | Attendant for a group of kiosks | Guard at the exit check |
| Queue at peak | Grows with footfall | Shorter, still a line | Only a quick exit check |
| Weighed and loose items | Yes | Sometimes, with a scale | No, they stay at the counter |
| Shopper needs | Nothing | Nothing | The app on their phone |
| Theft control | Cashier sees every item | Weight checks and attendants | Signed exit pass, risk checks, audits |
Which one should you choose?
Most stores do not need to choose only one. The common pattern is to keep counters for big trolleys, weighed goods and cash, and move small baskets to self checkout. If your store has many small baskets and weekend queues, mobile scan and pay moves those shoppers out of the line without buying machines. If most of your sales are weighed or loose goods, traditional counters will stay the main route for now.
Try it in one of your stores. A 30 day pilot runs as an express lane next to your existing counters, and we measure the difference against a similar store.
See how the pilot works or write to hello@qwikexit.com.
Common questions
What is the difference between self checkout and traditional checkout?
In traditional checkout a cashier scans every item at a counter. In self checkout the shopper scans their own items, either at a kiosk or on their own phone, and pays without a cashier.
Is self checkout cheaper than billing counters?
Self checkout reduces the number of counters needed at peak times. Kiosks add hardware and maintenance costs, while mobile scan and pay needs no hardware, only a guard at the exit check.