How grocers can make self-checkout work
Offering speed and convenience, self- checkouts are an increasingly important part of the in-store experience. But as adoption increases, so do expectations for accuracy, ease of use and true seamlessness. Matt Miles, director of North America retail, Diebold Nixdorf, works closely with grocers to modernize the in-store experience with the latest self-checkout technology. In his view, the next phase is less about the latest “shiny new object” and more about making in-store tech truly work. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What do you see as the most important shifts in in-store technology?
Grocery has moved out of the experimentation phase and into execution. Over the past couple of years, everyone has been dabbling in AI and how to introduce self-service. Now, it’s about executing and how the AI and automation work inside their stores and whether or not it’s a measurable improvement. A lot of times it’s the flashy new thing and you have to ask, is it actually making a difference in their stores? And so, that’s what a lot of grocers are starting to focus on: how do we go about making sure it’s measurable. It’s all about removing that friction at the checkout, improving on accuracy, supporting local store teams and making sure it meets customers’ needs.
How is the role of self-serve tech evolving?
Technology is becoming less fragmented. A couple of years ago, all the different areas of the store were like islands doing their own thing. Post-COVID, everything has become more foundational. So, you need to start building on all those islands and start making a continent. The integration matters the most at checkout because everything comes together, and that’s where the friction becomes immediately visible to customers and then it becomes costly to the operators. Capabilities like AI-based facial recognition, automated age verification, intelligent shrink intervention—that’s where you can have a meaningful impact at the checkout.
READ: Is the sun setting on self-checkout?
What are the retailers successfully leveraging self-checkout technology getting right?
In grocery, specifically, those that are doing well have clarity. They understand what their challenge is and what they’re trying to solve for—whether that be shrink, congestion at the checkout or associate workload— and then they start measuring it. That’s where we see retailers excelling. If you lack clarity on what you are trying to solve for, that’s when things get confusing and that’s where retailers fall behind. Measurement is really important in technology because without ROI, it doesn’t pay for itself.
How can grocers use AI and data analytics in meaningful ways at self-checkout?
One of the main uses for AI is checkout accuracy and operational efficiency. Computer vision (CV) is helping a lot with shrink. Believe it or not, most issues we encounter on the front end when it comes to shrink are actually unintentional shrink. For example, someone hears the beep from somebody else’s register or self-checkout and the item goes into the bagging area, but it didn’t scan. Not a lot of people go to the front-end checkouts to intentionally steal. So, that’s where a lot of the friction can be addressed. Another area is cutting down on unnecessary associate interventions … for example, if an item is mis-scanned or accidentally placed into the bagging area and an associate has to come over and clear the error. All of that can go away with CV and smart vision because it will understand what’s going on in that customer’s journey. It has the context to address it.
READ: How embracing artificial intelligence can elevate the shopper experience
What does the store of the future look like and what’s next for self-checkouts?
The store of the future won’t be fully automated, but it will be highly adaptive. Technology will start fading into the background, enabling a much better customer experience without demanding attention. Checkout is still going to be critical. You’re not just going to walk out. At no point in the near-term future do I see an autonomous store. But it will be faster, more intuitive and more forgiving. So, AI is going to help prevent common errors and reduce unnecessary interruptions, but at the same time, the store is going to be better equipped to handle peak demand and the staffing variability that comes with it. With CV, you can track how many people are coming into the store, proactively notify the store based on the analytics and open more lanes when needed. It’s not about removing staff—it’s about making sure retailers are armed with intelligent decisions. We’re giving them those insights and actions proactively versus a lot of data three months later saying you should have opened three more tills. That’s what we see as the store of the future. You take all the CV and infrastructure in the store today, tie it with operations, analytics and tech, and put it all together. Then staff is better equipped to handle the peaks.
This article was first published in Canadian Grocer’s May 2026 issue.
