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Faster checkout at retail counters is a hugely positive consumer experience.
When we talk of speeding up checkout at retail counters, the most common suggestions talk about either increasing the number of counters or increasing manpower to operate these counters. Both these involve substantial additional cost.
We should first exhaust other zero cost opportunities, which largely relate to obstacles while checking out.
A common issue in most retail chains relates to credit notes. Consumers bring a valid credit note and ask it to be adjusted against their current bill. The obstacle is often in reading the bar code on these credit notes. If a credit note is valid for say 6 months, it should be legible for that duration. Most credit notes fade away so badly, well before the deadline, that scanners are unable to read them. The problem is with the paper on which these are printed.
If retail chains want faster checkouts, they should print credit notes on a better paper, which remains legible till the end of the validity period. Other option is to send an electronic copy of the credit note to the registered mobile number of the consumer.
There are many more obstacles in the checkout process, which can be eliminated at zero cost. All it requires is a focused Gemba visit.