Per Nilsson

Mobile Cashier

Removing barriers to interaction: A check-stand solution suitable for high-end grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Central Market. By freeing cashiers from the shackles of check-out counters, and letting them roam free in the store, customer service is improved and work-related injuries are decimated. (Academic project)

My Role

Design research and analysis, Ideation, Illustration, Prototyping

Description

A mobile cashier is equipped with a hand scanner, to be able to check out customers from anywhere within a store. Checked-out customers are handed a receipt as proof of purchase. This trust relationship is already being used in stores with self-checkout machines.

Some cashiers will still be stationed at small checkout podiums by the exit, but the bulk of customers will be processed in the aisles. This decreases the need for customers to stand in line, and frees cashiers up to do other tasks, such as restocking, and providing better customer service.

For Whom?

Specialty Retail Stores

—especially high-end grocery stores, for whom customer experience, and retention, is essential for success.

The Cashiers

—whose role usually has more to do with labor than service. Existing solutions to improve service worker ergonomics exist, but are not always implemented. These solutions tend to refine repetitive tasks, but fail to address problems arising from static working positions.

Our product aims to increase these workers' interaction with customers and colleagues, and decrease ergonomic and stress-related injuries. A cashier free to move about the store can engage in a wider variety of tasks, thus avoiding the dangers of static postures.

The Customers

The customer is the main shopping experience participant, and a store's lifeblood. Grocery store experiences are currently similar to being funneled through checkout stations like livestock. It's an impersonal process designed for expedience.

Roaming cashiers will be able to provide an unprecedented level of customer service, while largely eliminating checkout lines. The experience will be improved for both parties.

Presentation Slideshow

Design Process

Problem Formulation

The design problem came from our own observations at grocery stores. During times of high-traffic, it's not a pleasant experience to shop. There are fewer employees available to ask questions, and nobody likes to wait in line. We saw a situation ripe for improvement.

Research and Analysis

We analyzed the shopping experience by going shopping while taking notes, and breaking everything down to several component steps. For each step, we asked questions as they could be posed by 1) the customer, 2) the store, and 3) a designer working to improve the shopping experience. From this information, we compiled two journey frameworks: one that dealt with the shopping experience as a whole, and another that detailed the specific procedure of checking out.

We researched the various work related injuries that commonly afflict cashiers, such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Strain Injuries, Local Contact Stress, and Tendonitis, and the solutions currently addressing these problems. We found existing solutions to be lacking From informal interviews as our local large-volume grocery store, we confirmed that work-related injuries are a reality, and need to be addressed.

Ideation and Prototyping

From discussion, it was clear that existing ergonomic equipment only addressed a symptom, and didn't get to the root of the problem inherent in the cashier job: static postures and repetitive tasks. We realized that the solution would be to rewrite the job description for these workers. With modern handheld technology, it would be feasible to let the cashiers handle their job with a much more mobile approach.

We tried the concept out ourselves by a combination of available-material prototyping and bodystorming. From these tests, we found that high-volume grocery shopping would be difficult without a large packing space for grocery bags. We decided that the concept would have better application within high-end, low volume organic grocery stores, that also have a greater interest in providing a pleasant shopping experience.

Conclusion

Interviews with our target group of stakeholders at high-end grocery stores are needed to truly get a a user perspective on the shopping experience.

There are still issues to address, such as optimizing the ratio of cashiers still stationed at check-out counters, and those that roam the aisles. Further testing is needed to show if roaming cashiers actually can decrease line-ups, and if it is feasible to fluently switch between restocking tasks and checking customers out.

Team

Paul Brokenshire, Jody Dickerson, Per Nilsson, Dan Swan, Nathan Waddington