Woolworths promises no jobs are at risk as it tests self-service till

A general view of Woolworths store in Johannesburg. Picture: Gallo Images/Luba Lesolle Grocery retailers in South Africa are testing self-service checkout tills, signalling a shift toward automation that could reshape operations and customer experience. Woolworths is the latest to pilot a self-service checkout till.

Many people fear that adopting technological advancements, such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI), will displace jobs. Checkers, under the Shoprite group, was the first grocery retailerin the country to trial self-service checkout tills in Brackenfell and Constantia, Western Cape, last year. However, the self-service checkout method is dominant in many fast-food outlets, including KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King.

However, the retailer has assured that no jobs are at risks due to the trial of the self-service till. “Important to note, this initiative does not impact till operator roles,” a Woolworths spokesperson toldThe Citizen. “Our focus is on upskilling and redeploying team members into other roles within store environments as we continue to evolve our service offering.” The spokesperson added that the self-service Express Till is currently being trialled at Woolworths Foreshore store in Cape Town.

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The retailer said the Foreshore store has a smaller format and busy lunchtime trade, which makes it a suitable environment to test the technology in a real trading context, particularly for customers shopping with smaller baskets and looking for a speedier experience. “At present, this is a limited pilot involving one till in a single store. The objective is to evaluate the overall customer journey, including ease of use, speed of transaction and customer acceptance, before making any decisions about broader implementation,” said the retailer.

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