Some Krogers Are Switching to Entirely Self-Checkout Stores
A Kroger in Middle Tennessee is now entirely self-checkout, with plans to bring the experience to another location later this year.
The days of cashiers and baggers may be coming to an end. Kroger has converted one of its stores in Franklin, Tennessee to self-checkout-only, and the supermarket chain has plans to do the same at other locations.
The store, located about 20 minutes from downtown Nashville, ditched cashiers and baggers on Friday, July 21 and instead move solely to self-checkout. To aid the transition, the location has added several wide lanes to help accommodate shoppers with larger orders, and for those who are not yet fond of self-checkout, Lauren Bell, corporate affairs manager for Kroger's Nashville division, told WKRN, "We still have staff at the front end ready and willing to step in to assist those customers [who don't want to or are unable to scan their own items]."
Kroger selected the Franklin location as it was considered an ideal location due to the high rate of customers who were already using self-checkout. Bell told WKRN that self-checkout allows "our customers to scan and bag their own items," adding that, "it's a fast, friendly experience," and one that could soon be coming to more Kroger locations. According to Kroger, there are currently plans to make another Middle Tennessee Kroger a 100% self-checkout store, with a Hillsboro Village location possibly set to make the switch later this year. Kroger – which confirmed that no jobs were eliminated to make these updates, but rather some job titles were changed – added that the self-checkout experience will not happen at all locations.
The change to the Franklin location comes after Kroger introduced new belted self-checkout lane last year at more than 40 stores in the Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio area. The self-checkout lanes feature a belt, just like the clerk lanes, that moves purchases down to a large loading area. The lanes also feature a touchscreen register with a scanner.
Ohio has been a sort of testing ground for Kroger in the past. In addition to launching the belted self-checkout lanes, WLWT5 reports the grocer has been piloting drone deliveries in Ohio. The initiative, which had its first delivery launched out of Centerville, Ohio, is in partnership with Drone Express, a division of Telegrid Technologies. The hope is that the technology will allow package delivery directly to the location of a customer's cell phone. Kroger has also been expanding its delivery and pick-up reach.