On average, customers spend a little over six minutes waiting in the checkout area of a German supermarket before they can pay for their purchases.* The retail experts at the EHI Retail Institute supply a further statistic: German retailers lose 1.9 billion euros every year due to theft by customers. From a statistical point of view, each German household therefore steals around 50 euros worth of retail goods per year. This means that every 200th shopping trolley passes the checkout without the goods being paid for. The figures are similar for other European countries.
With the combination of Checkout Manager Pro and eGate Checkout, Wanzl is now offering a complete solution that reduces customer waiting times at the checkout while also protecting the retailer from inventory differences. The Checkout Manager Pro checkout guidance system reduces customer waiting times through targeted deployment of checkout staff according to the current number of customers. State-of-the-art LCD and LED technology, computer interfaces and real time data capture notify the store manager and staff of the current status of the checkouts at all times via a display and individual voice prompts optimised for the noise level. Additional LED modules inform staff of the current situation in the checkout area, even in particularly noisy surroundings. If the store is very busy, more checkouts can be opened quickly, irritating waiting times at the checkout are a thing of the past and customer satisfaction and loyalty to the store are increased. The clearly visible LED display in the checkout area also informs customers whether a checkout is available and directs the flow of customers: the display unit at open checkouts shows a green light, while red means "closed at the moment". Blue tells the store manager that they are needed at the corresponding checkout. The Checkout Manager Pro system manages up to ten checkouts simultaneously.
The Checkout Manager Pro system communicates with the eGate Checkout electronic checkout barrier: if the checkout is manned by a member of staff, the eGate Checkout system swivel arm opens on receiving a pulse from the computer or being pushed by hand in the direction of the exit and the customer is free to leave the store. At checkouts that are not in use, the Wanzl eGate Checkout system reliably prevents unauthorised persons from passing; staff are immediately alerted to any manipulation attempts. This reduces inventory differences, because customers who have goods in their shopping trolley or basket that they have not paid for cannot leave the store. In the event of an emergency, the system opens up the checkout area to provide an escape route, then returns automatically to its original secure position. The swivel arm options include the transparent, illuminated swivel barrier made from ESG safety glass, the "Classic" barrier and the high barrier that cannot be climbed over.
* Selected European countries; test customers; 2,500 interviewees; grass roots performance study
