Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

In what’s been called the self-checkout diet plan, retailers are learning the unintended consequences of self-checkout systems, as they see sales of candy, Hollywood tabloids, batteries and other checkout lane impulse items plummet.

A very small part of the answer for this phenomena is that retailers are typically opting to not put such impulse items next to self-checkout systems, said Greg Buzek, president of the IHL retail consulting firm, which has just completed a self-checkout study. The core of the problem is simply the way consumers interact with self-checkout systems. Typically, they have to pay much more attention to choosing a lane and to watching their products and scanning them, thereby leaving almost no time for browsing magazines or otherwise being tempted.

“Things like chewing gum and breath mints, chocolate candy, chips and salty snacks, soda and water. We’re seeing a tremendous change there, drops of 40 percent overall from people who say they buy it in a standard lane but do not buy it in a self-checkout lane,” Buzek said. “Retailers have to factor those impulse items in when they do an ROI (return on investment) calculation for self-checkout. They are typically using labor savings or moving labor around in the store as a primary reason for justifying self-checkout but also need to factor in the merchandising sales. There’s a fundamental change happening in the frontend of the checkout line when self-checkout is implemented.”

Beyond the fact that few retailers have gotten around to adding impulse items near self-checkout systems, the attention-demanding nature of those lanes are making it more difficult to sell typical impulse items, said another retail technology analyst, Paula Rosenblum, VP of research and content for the Retail Systems Alert Group.

“There’s a difference in focus. I know that when I’ve stood on self-checkout lanes, you’re much more alert to see which lane you’re going to be ready to use,” Rosenblum said. “Your focus is simply different. You’re kind of getting ready for action.