Apple's Retail Self-Checkout Doing Well, Strong Promotion Coming at Grand Central

[bigjnyc]

I know Apple has always been very loose with security compared to other big electronic stores... Like with no alarm at the doors and their products not having alarms on them (except the display models) but this takes things to a whole new level of trust in the customer. I just don't see how you can prevent theft to an acceptable level with people just being able to walk out of the store with a product in their hand? especially in NYC... The Apple stores are always full of kids that dont look like model citizens so to speak. I can see this working or being contained in a small suburban town but a big city is a different story.

 

[aristotle]

In the UK, self checkout tills are becoming very popular in supermarkets (I'm in London so not sure outside of the capital).

In one branch of a supermarket near where I live in London they are making sure staff are attending the tills as much as possible as its was very popular for people to go through the motions of scanning stuff then simply walking away before paying.

There will always be people who want to try it on and they probably will, and then the information will start to flow amongst the criminals and the losses will get too big and Apple will close it down.

We have self checkout at supermarkets here in Canada too. I have used it a few times but I find it to be more trouble than it is worth at some of the stores because the machines mess up if you scan in your airmiles collector card when you are asked to do so requiring a staff member to come by and fix it so you can proceed to pay.

 

[Trauma1]

1 - Add roaming and random staff checks of customers leaving with merchandise.

Nope. Stores in the US have no legal right to do random receipt checks. It was a Supreme Court decision that one must have "specific and atriculable facts". Sam's Club/Costco type places do receipt checks, but they are membership clubs and part of the membership stipulates voluntary receipt checks.

http://www.thelegality.com/2008/03/...-the-legality-of-compulsory-receipt-checking/

Self checkout is for lower priced items

Time Capsules, headphones, speakers, are a few of several items over $200 that are available for Self Checkout.

 

[rdowns]

Let's remember that the products available for self checkout are few. It's not like you can walk up to a shelf and grab an iPod touch.

 

[Consultant]

Seriously Apple, just hire more employees.

Store pickup makes sense. Self-checkout doesn't.

 

[mms13]

Yeah it's honestly weird. I was at the store in the US the other day picking up a case for a MBA, and the apple employee told me to use my iPhone. Didn't work as my apple ID is not an american one. But they used their iPod touch to do the transaction. No receipt or bag though, and I walked through half the store with the case in hand and no proof that I paid for it. I walked out looking as if I could have just grabbed it off the shelf.

I always feel soo weird walking out of there with no bag or reciept and I always wonder how people don't just steal crap that way

 

[Avatar74]

Regarding loss prevention I would hazard 2 guesses:

1. All the items you can self-checkout are small ticket items, and any statistical probability of theft (given the mere deterrent of at least 100 witnesses and 10-15 salespeople's eyes on the floor at any given time) is a miniscule risk outweighed by the marginal sales generated by the convenience.

2. Apple has loss prevention measures in place, but they're designed to not disrupt the customer experience and they don't let out what they are. If someone actually does leave the store with an unpaid item, there could be a number of cameras manned by a loss prevention specialist who would then alert mall security.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

The whole point of this system is that it eliminates the need to interact with any staff members. Having to wait for any sort of tangible proof of purchase defeats the whole purpose.

Besides, a customer could have always requested an email receipt, no bag, and just walk out with the product in hand. Yes, the stores do have stickers that indicate a purchase, but they really do not push them too hard.

In general you are right. But handling a simple label is much faster compared to dealing with money or cc. It could be even unmanned in a way that while checkout the app tells you on which label printer you find your sticker ( yeah, some detail work to be done).

But maybe the financial risk is just low compared to the overall success and a certain level of loss is just factored in ( which I'm sure is the case)

 

[Trauma1]

In general you are right. But handling a simple label is much faster compared to dealing with money or cc. It could be even unmanned in a way that while checkout the app tells you on which label printer you find your sticker ( yeah, some detail work to be done).

Then you have all the issues of printing: no ink/toner, no paper, connectivity problems, etc. Someone can always stand by a label printer and just grab whatever one that comes out, then go claim the product as their own.

Bottom line: having no step is always faster than one or two steps.

Most of the stores that make up the bulk of their US locations are in regular shopping malls. There has always been minimal security, and there does not appear to be an evident push to compromise their customer experience for loss prevention.

 

[ERIC273]

How it works is you scan the item, It charges your card than it shows a PDF of the receipt and says if you would like a bag flash your phone to an employee and they will hand you one!
Also, I was kidding, I didn't get tackled but the employees were clueless to what the system was when I showed them a receipt! They asked how I got into their system!

 

[bretm]

I heard they discovered 75% of people that go in to steal something end up buying an iPad while they're there.

 

[Tonewheel]

So what am I missing?

The Apple Store app on my iPhone does't have an in-store checkout feature. Is it activated once you're in the store and on their wifi system?

 

[Trauma1]

So what am I missing?

The Apple Store app on my iPhone does't have an in-store checkout feature. Is it activated once you're in the store and on their wifi system?

It's location aware. Open the app when you are near a store and a new screen will pop up. You do not have to be on Wi-Fi.

 

[jareds941]

I was going to use it...

but as I was about to purchase some "cute" case for my wife's 4S I had the opportunity during "checkout" to read reviews of the product. I discovered it was mostly a POS and not worth my $35. So we actually left the store without a case. I thought it was pretty ironic that the self-checkout experience actually led to a lost sale. I'm happy about it, but thought it was ironic.

The other thing about theft, is that reality is, anyone that would actually steal would do it one way or another. So a system that appears as though it is super lax isn't likely to change the theft rate.

Before this I've left the store with an emailed receipt and no bag many times. Really no difference. Paid at the back of the store. Waded through the people to get out. Either way, could look like I was just walking out without paying.

 

[mingoglia]

How does Apple prevent theft? Statistics.

1 - Most people are honest and won't blatantly steal.
2 - For those who aren't honest, most are hesitant to steal.
3 - Of those, a broad portion don't have the balls to risk getting caught.

Now, prevention:
1 - Add roaming and random staff checks of customers leaving with merchandise. This catches thieves but also discourages people in point 2 and 3.
2 - Existing employees are still in the store and will interact with customers and help them pay for their merchandise.

Who's left? The suspicious guy in the corner who doesn't want to talk to staff when approached. Ask him for his receipt on the way out.

Now we're down to the very few who are probably already shoplifters and will steal regardless of whether a system like this is in place or not. All you've got now are experienced shoplifters. They would otherwise hide the item and leave. What's changed is that they can do it out in the open where they're more likely to get caught. We might get less shoplifting, not more or at least catch more of those shoplifters who would steal in hiding anyway.

Self checkout is for lower priced items so even if Apple has a 0.5% theft (1 in every 200 items in the store) which is extremely high, they would still save money on human resources and improve the experience for customers.

Great post, I agree with you. To the casual person it seems obvious that a store wants zero theft and adding something like this can't reduce theft, it can only add to it. However Apple's bean counters have backed this risk out on paper and it's offset by being able to free up personnel to handle other larger purchases and/or questions regarding products. In the long run they will definitely have more theft but they're banking (quite literally) that this will be offset by the additional revenue (and reduced staff expense) gained by this.

The day they offered this I tried it out. Like a previous poster I also felt guilty for some reason as I walked out. Just feels strange to self pay on my own device. Transaction couldn't have been smoother though.

On edit: I also read reviews of what I was there to buy. Though I had already done my homework so knew what I was getting, I can definitely see how this could actually sway someone from following through with a purchase.

 

[dittman]

I wanted to try self-checkout this weekend but I couldn't see any way to enter a corporate discount. I was told those purchases still have to be handled by a store employee.

 

[Nothlit]

Self checkout. Sounds like a thief could just walk in with an iPhone and pretend to go through the motions and then walk out with product. Unless Apple has some way of really keeping track of this.

Yeah, but that's always been the case. Even before EasyPay, you could request an emailed receipt and decline a bag, and there'd be no way for any other employees to tell whether you paid for the item or not (other than the one you just interacted with, who's probably already run off to help someone else).

 

[BJMRamage]

Nope. Stores in the US have no legal right to do random receipt checks. It was a Supreme Court decision that one must have "specific and atriculable facts". Sam's Club/Costco type places do receipt checks, but they are membership clubs and part of the membership stipulates voluntary receipt checks.

http://www.thelegality.com/2008/03/...-the-legality-of-compulsory-receipt-checking/



Time Capsules, headphones, speakers, are a few of several items over $200 that are available for Self Checkout.

Bet Buy checks receipts for most large box purchases.
i guess i could deny them now?

or is this they check every large box item so it isn't completely random?

 

[Virgo]

Nope. Stores in the US have no legal right to do random receipt checks. It was a Supreme Court decision that one must have "specific and atriculable facts". Sam's Club/Costco type places do receipt checks, but they are membership clubs and part of the membership stipulates voluntary receipt checks.

http://www.thelegality.com/2008/03/...-the-legality-of-compulsory-receipt-checking/

What about Frye's electronics? They aren't a membership club but they check everyone's receipts before you leave. That store creeps me out and the employees look like degenerates, but I have been there a few times when I lived in TX.

 

[gkarris]

Let's remember that the products available for self checkout are few. It's not like you can walk up to a shelf and grab an iPod touch.

Really - the stores by me better start putting away their Apple TV's, Time Capsules, Airport Express's, etc., etc....

 

[s1m]

We have self checkout at supermarkets here in Canada too. I have used it a few times but I find it to be more trouble than it is worth at some of the stores because the machines mess up if you scan in your airmiles collector card when you are asked to do so requiring a staff member to come by and fix it so you can proceed to pay.

I used to use self check out in the UK many years ago. You scanned items through the store and then checked out yourself. This was great as you could bag up purchases as you picked them up which meant not unloading the trolley and reloading it. In Oz we have a flavour of self check out where you scan as you exit - the scanning points weighs each purchase to make sure you don't "accidentally" take two for the price of one

Seriously Apple, just hire more employees.

Store pickup makes sense. Self-checkout doesn't.

Why? Most of my instore purchases are made without any form of interaction with the team there so being able to scan and go without having to track down an employee makes my shopping experience better and faster.

but as I was about to purchase some "cute" case for my wife's 4S I had the opportunity during "checkout" to read reviews of the product. I discovered it was mostly a POS and not worth my $35. So we actually left the store without a case. I thought it was pretty ironic that the self-checkout experience actually led to a lost sale. I'm happy about it, but thought it was ironic.

This is a great outcome for Apple though - you haven't ended up with a crappy product that would make you less satisfied with Apple overall. It might even make you more likely to shop in the Apple store because you know you will get some product reviews at the purchase point that will help inform your decision.

 

[Trauma1]

Bet Buy checks receipts for most large box purchases.
i guess i could deny them now?

or is this they check every large box item so it isn't completely random?

What about Frye's electronics? They aren't a membership club but they check everyone's receipts before you leave. That store creeps me out and the employees look like degenerates, but I have been there a few times when I lived in TX.

You can always refuse to show your receipt. If they ask and you show them, then that's voluntary.

If they don't have a legitimate reason to stop you (i.e they saw you take it off the shelf and walk straight to the exit), then they have no legal right.

 

[BrianMojo]

Nope. Stores in the US have no legal right to do random receipt checks. It was a Supreme Court decision that one must have "specific and atriculable facts". Sam's Club/Costco type places do receipt checks, but they are membership clubs and part of the membership stipulates voluntary receipt checks.

http://www.thelegality.com/2008/03/...-the-legality-of-compulsory-receipt-checking/

Add The Home Depot to the list of stores that check your receipt on the way out.

 

[WalkingSnake]

I love how many in here just thinks Apple said "herpderp self checkout!" and made it happen without considering theft.

Several posters in this thread have made great points - and I'm sure Apple has spent years crunching the numbers and weighing the risks.

You really think this is bad, I've worked in 3 nation retail stores, one very well known. They all had the same policy: Ignore shoplifters. We weren't allowed to accuse, stop, or even try to intimidate them. We made more money by helping honest customers than by putting effort in to stopping the dishonest, because if they're going to steal, they're going to steal. We had no security nor equipment, and nobody authorized to stop them. Does self-checkout still seem so weird?

 

[gkarris]

You really think this is bad, I've worked in 3 nation retail stores, one very well known. They all had the same policy: Ignore shoplifters. We weren't allowed to accuse, stop, or even try to intimidate them. We made more money by helping honest customers than by putting effort in to stopping the dishonest, because if they're going to steal, they're going to steal. We had no security nor equipment, and nobody authorized to stop them. Does self-checkout still seem so weird?

...and you know who ends up paying for stolen merchandise?