Checking out losses

CITY EXPERT'S STUDY SHOWS HOW RETAILERS LOSE AT THEIR SELF-CHECKOUTS

- By STAFF REPORTER

RESEARCH by a city criminologist has revealed self-checkouts are now the preferred way for customers to pay - but it is leading to significant losses for businesses.

The study found that 54 per cent of store transactions now go through self-checkouts.

However, it also found that store losses rose 22 per cent on average in the first year that self-checkouts were introduced.

Led by Dr Matt Hopkins, Professor of Criminology at the University of Leicester, the study, commissioned by ECR Retail Loss, is the most comprehensive of its kind, involving 39 participating retailers with a combined annual turnover of €1 trillion.