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☆ My supermarket removed all the self-service checkouts. It's annoyed some customers — but the staff prefer it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Booths, a UK supermarket chain, recently removed almost all its self-service checkouts. No more self-checkoutsAligning with those values is part of the reason that Booths has just removed all self-service checkouts. AdvertisementObviously, you have to have more staff on than if you had a lot of self-service machines, but you always had to have someone manning the self-service tills anyway. A lot of our customers are older and find self-service machines really confusing. I don't find the work busier than when we had self-service machines, but there is a drawback.

Persons: Marti Stelling, —, it's, There's, we're, It's, Marti, Manning, checkouts Organizations: Service Locations: Rippon , North Yorkshire

☆ How Walmart, Kroger, and other major retailers are ramping up self-checkout tech to combat theft
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Retailers and tech firms are developing new ways to detect — and prevent — theft. Companies like Walmart and Kroger are using cameras, AI sensors, and other tech at self-checkouts. These days, companies like Walmart, Kroger, and more are outfitting their self-checkouts with cameras, AI-enabled sensors, and other high-tech tools to tamp down theft at self-checkout stations. They previously said, "As with other retailers, theft is always a challenge, and we're always looking for better ways to tackle this issue. The presence of a person is one of several low-tech ways retailers have managed to curb shoplifting at self-checkout lanes.

Persons: —, Craig Szklany, Dominick Reuter, we're, Sensormatic, Kroger, Abhinai Srivastava, haven't, Srivastava, Sensormatic's Szklany Organizations: Companies, Walmart, Kroger, Service, Business, BP

☆ Target might limit you to just 10 items at self-checkout registers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Target is testing a 10-item limit at some self-checkout kiosks. AdvertisementShoppers who use some Target self-checkouts now have to limit themselves to 10 items or fewer. "In select stores we are testing self-checkout lanes of 10 items or fewer in order to reduce wait times and better understand guest preferences," Target told Business Insider. The retailer did not say how many stores are involved in the experiment, but CNN reports that the limit applies at select self-checkout kiosks "at a handful of stores." Do you have a story idea about Target or self-checkout to share?

Persons: —, Target Organizations: Service, Target, CNN, Star Tribune, Costco, Walmart Locations: Minnesota, Edina , Minnesota, Minneapolis, Albuquerque , New Mexico

☆ A Grocery Chain Just Fired Its Self-Checkouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

You clicked the picture of a zucchini on the screen, but what you have in your basket is a cucumber. And buying something like alcohol or medicine still means you have to wait for a store worker to come over. No warm welcome from machines. “Delighting customers with our warm northern welcome is part of our DNA.”Can humans and machines peacefully coexist? But removing self-checkouts altogether, as Booths announced it will do, would be a “bad idea,” Ms. Abittan said.

Persons: that’s, “ There’s, ”, Sandra Abittan, “, Ms, Abittan Organizations: Tesco, Wal, Mart Locations: London, United States, Britain

☆ Dutch payments startup Fero just raised a $3 million seed round led by Coatue with this 11-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dutch payments fintech startup Fero has raised $3 million in a seed funding round from US hedge fund Coatue. The Amsterdam-based startup, founded in 2022, aims to improve the customer verification process at checkouts and decrease the level of abandoned purchases. Payment authentication, where customer identities are verified, has become much more crucial for businesses since the rollout of Europe's PSD2 Open banking regulations. Fero wants to reduce the level of friction customers face during this authentication process, the startup's cofounder and CEO Craig Savage said. The company went through the tech startup incubation program Antler before raising this $3 million seed funding round led by Coatue, alongside Volta Ventures and Antler.

Persons: Fero, Craig Savage, Savage, Coatue Organizations: Volta Ventures Locations: The Amsterdam, Madrid, Amsterdam

Customers seen in the self-service checkout area of a Coles supermarket in Sydney, Australia, June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 26 (Reuters) - Australian retailers are ramping up their tech security initiatives, including placing cameras at self-checkouts and body-worn cameras on staff, to combat a surge in stock theft and customer aggression aggravated by the cost of living crisis. "Unfortunately the data suggests it's continuing to occur," added Thomson, whose firm counts Coles and Woolworths as clients. Reports of store theft surged 23% in Australia's three largest states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, home to three-quarters of the population, in the year to March 2023, according to the latest available government statistics, as COVID-related restrictions ended. Reports of threatening behaviour by shoppers rose to 17% of all security reports logged by Australian store staff in 2023, from 10% three years earlier, according to Auror data reviewed by Reuters.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Phil Thomson, Thomson, Coles, Leah Weckert, Weckert, Brad Banducci, Gerard Dwyer, Rishav Chatterjee, Byron Kaye, Praveen Menon, Christian Organizations: Coles, REUTERS, Woolworths, New, Reuters, National, of, Allied Employees Association, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, New Zealand, Australia's, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Bengaluru

AdvertisementAdvertisementWalmart employees say working with anti-theft technology at self-checkouts has led to some tense confrontations with customers. The seven former and current Walmart employees Insider interviewed had direct experience with the company's anti-theft self-checkout technology. Athenia Camacho, a former Walmart employee, detailed the process in a recent TikTok video. Walmart prohibits employees from accusing customers of stealing, even if theft is suspected, the seven people who spoke with Insider said. Another Walmart employee in Missouri said she was told to approach customer confrontations with the mindset: "Don't blame the customer.

Persons: —, they're, we're, Joe Pennington, Athenia Camacho, Camacho, Jeffrey Greenberg, SAMUEL CORUM, Dominick Haar, Patti Leroy, Leroy, Dominick Organizations: Walmart, Service, Employees, Universal, Getty, SCO Locations: Arkansas, Florida, Miami , Florida, Doral, Illinois, Missouri, AFP, Southern Illinois, Kentucky

☆ 3 retailers weigh in on how a financial technology platform helped solve their enterprises' most pressing challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Adyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

From arts and entertainment to health and wellness, businesses across industries are tapping into financial technology to drive growth. Below are three tips to help enterprises stay informed on the latest financial technology trends, while delivering value to their customers and employees. Choosing a single payment platform is a good starting point for increasing agility, but the type of platform you choose matters. Taking the next stepFor businesses looking to scale amid a changing economic landscape, a single financial technology platform isn't just a choice; it's a necessity. Learn more about how Adyen's single payment platform can help your enterprise meet the evolving needs of customers and businesses.

Persons: —, Pepe Jeans, Vázquez Cabezas Organizations: Enterprise, Terme, Federal Reserve Bank of San, Connect, Marketing, Insider Studios Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Adyen

☆ How Best Buy is winning the war against retail theft
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Hayley Peterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But Best Buy said Tuesday that theft at its stores has remained relatively stable. On Tuesday's call, Barry rattled off a list of strategies that she said has helped Best Buy combat theft. Best Buy employs security workers at store entrancesBarry said Best Buy employs asset-protection employees at its front doors. Best Buy stores have one entrance and few self-checkout registersBarry highlighted other features of Best Buy's stores as theft deterrents. Best Buy is locking away some merchandiseBarry said Best Buy has started removing some items from the sales floor that could be prime targets for thieves.

Persons: —, Corie Barry, Dick's, Barry, Matt Kelley, Richard Galanti, we've Organizations: Walmart, Service, Dick's Sporting Goods, Costco, LiveView Technologies Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Self checkout could be making Americans lonelier
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Self checkout might be making Americans lonelier. Most customers prefer self checkout. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyAdvertisementAdvertisementAmericans are lonelier than ever, and self checkout could be part of the problem. The option was especially popular with Gen Z respondents, 84% of whom said they prefer self-checkout. Self checkout is just one of many potential drivers of loneliness in the US.

Persons: it's, PlayUSA, Gen, Darryl Jones, he's, Jones Organizations: Service, Los Angeles Times, US, Kroger, Amazon, Albertsons, Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, PlayUSA, Tennessee, Southern California

☆ Theft has become such a nightmare for Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores that they're going to lock up some items and simply stop selling others
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Theft is becoming a mounting problem at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores. At Dollar Tree, shrink costs increased 0.75% in the quarter to July 29 year-over-year. At Family Dollar, shrink costs were up 0.45%. As of late July, Dollar Tree, Inc owned just under 16,500 stores, with around half Dollar Tree and half Family Dollar. Execs said at May's call that measures to help improve shrink levels included defensive merchandising, store closures, and local government action.

Persons: Rick Dreiling, Dreiling, Execs, Brian Cornell, Jeff Davis, Davis, We'll Organizations: Service, Inc, Dick's Sporting Goods Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ A grocery chain is offering free coffee to cops in an attempt to deter shoplifters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

British grocery chain Waitrose is offering free coffees to cops under a plan to deter shoplifters. Assaults on staff at Waitrose stores have roughly doubled since 2020, The Times of London reported. Waitrose, an upmarket grocer with more than 300 stores, has begun offering uniformed officers free hot drinks from its coffee machines and will ask them to bring a reusable cup. Parent company John Lewis Partnership said in a press release shared with Insider that the initiative was "part of efforts to strengthen relationships and tackle retail crime." It's trialing increasing the number of security, warning customers that CCTV is in use and that shoplifters face jail time.

Persons: John Lewis, Nicki Juniper, John Lewis Partnership's, It's, Juniper, BRC Organizations: Waitrose, shoplifters, Service, John Lewis Partnership, Partners, The Times, British Retail Consortium, BBC News Locations: London, Wall, Silicon, England, Wales, Northern Ireland

☆ Trader Joe’s says it’s not adding self-checkout lines to its stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Self-checkout kiosks are invading several chains, like Target and Kroger. In a recent company released podcast, Trader Joe’s President Jon Basalone said a rumor that the quirky grocery chain was adding them was as “false as false can be.” He added: “We believe in people. Ignoring the trendsNot jumping on the self-checkout trend isn’t the only thing that Trader Joe’s has ignored despite their competitors doing it. But Trader Joe’s stores are already overcrowded since the chain squeezes a limited number of items into small stores, many on city street corners. Additional people inside stores or cars in parking lots could make Trader Joe’s unbearable and adding curbside pickup would also be difficult to implement for these reasons.

Persons: New York CNN —, Jon Basalone, We’re, ” Basalone, “, ”, Bryan Palbaum interjected, ” Palbaum, Basalone, they’d, Sylvain Charlebois, it’s, Joe’s, Matt Sloan Organizations: New, New York CNN, Target, Kroger, Agri, Food, Dalhousie University, CNN Locations: New York, Nova Scotia

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Persons: Dash, USAA, Cash, you'll, Cardholders, it's, cardholders, Wells, Read Organizations: USAA, Wells, Chase Locations: J.D, USAA, Wells

☆ PayPal pays price for prolonged CEO hunt
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The price of PayPal’s (PYPL.O) CEO hunt just grew by some $9 billion. An e-commerce boom during the pandemic lifted PayPal’s stock price to a record high of about $308 in mid-2021. PayPal fell short of the 22% operating margin forecast it told investors it would deliver in May, and it remains below its pre-pandemic 23% rate. The company’s shares were down 11% around midday New York time on Aug. 3. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Dan Schulman, It’s, Gabrielle Rabinovitch, Russell Reynolds, Schulman, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Nasdaq, PayPal, Apple Pay, Braintree, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Some San Francisco Safeway stores added gates barring shoppers from leaving unless they scan a receipt. It's an anti-theft measure that has spread across the UK.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Safeway has installed receipt-scanning gates at some supermarkets in the San Francisco Bay Area. The technology has already been rolled out at multiple UK retailers, and shoppers are skeptical. A Reddit post from this spring, meanwhile, showed the gates at another Safeway location in San Francisco. Security gates at self checkouts is more common in the UKAcross the Atlantic in the UK, a handful of retailers already use the receipt-scanning gates at self-checkout areas. Some people have compared the security gates to Costco's receipt-checking system.

Persons: that's, Primark, Betty Yu, Alex Bitter Organizations: Safeway, San Francisco Bay Area, Service, California Safeway, San Francisco Chronicle, University of California, Daily, Morrisons, Costco, Sun, Twitter, Walgreens, CBS, KPIX, Area Locations: San Francisco Bay, Wall, Silicon, Bay, Berkeley, San Francisco ., Edinburgh, San Francisco

☆ E-commerce experts say these 4 checkout mistakes may hurt your business' bottom line
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Paypal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But many customers still witness challenges during and after checkout, including false declines and fraud. Below are four common checkout mistakes that enterprise e-commerce businesses make and how to avoid them. If those thresholds are too conservative, they can lead to false declines; if they're too liberal, they become more vulnerable to fraud. E-commerce merchants lost an estimated $11.1 billion in false declines last year. The machine learning models can distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent transactions to reduce false declines.

Persons: they're, Cindy Turner, Turner, Chargebacks, PayPal Braintree6, Experian, Cartes Organizations: Enterprise, PayPal, PayPal Braintree, Merchants, Insider Studios, Accounting, Deloitte, Novarica, Naked, LexisNexis, DE Locations: PayPal Braintree, Risk, chargebacks, . CA

☆ The cofounder of Iconiq-backed fintech Primer is stepping down as CEO, leaked memo shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Paul Anthony, the cofounder of Iconiq-backed fintech Primer, is stepping down as co-CEO. The company's cofounder Gabriel Le Roux will assume the role of sole CEO. Le Roux confirmed the organizational restructure and said it was a "reflection of the state of the business today." Le Roux insisted that there was no major disagreement to prompt this decision. In a message to staff Anthony said the move was a "real big change on my side."

Persons: Paul Anthony, Gabriel Le Roux, Le Roux, Anthony, We've Organizations: Accel, Iconiq Capital, Apple, PayPal, Braintree Locations: Cocoa

In-store and online sales rose 13% to 7.6 billion euros in the first quarter, in line with the 13.5% seen in the first six weeks of the financial year. The company said it plans to invest 1.6 billion euros to increase gross store space in 2023 by about 3%. Inditex closed its over 500 stores in Russia in March 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February and subsequent Western sanctions. Inditex has begun to charge for online returns in more countries with no impact on sales, the company said. Inditex is also invested in more self-scanning checkouts and is replacing hard anti-theft tags with chips sewn into garments to avoid checkout queues.

Persons: Inditex, Massimo Dutti, Anne Critchlow, Jelena Sokolova, Zara, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Charlie Devereux, Matt Scuffham, Josephine Mason, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Spain Company, Societe Generale, Inditex, Group, Morningstar, Thomson Locations: Spain, MADRID, LONDON, Zara, United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, UAE, France, Germany

Net profit came in at 1.2 billion euros ($1.24 billion) for the quarter that ended in April, exceeding analysts' average expectations of 980 million euros in a Refinitiv poll. Inditex reported solid sales, in line with analyst expectations of 7.56 billion euros, even after selling its profitable Russian division in 2022 and absorbing higher labour costs. Part of Inditex's strategy, which also owns Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti, is to maintain higher prices outside the Eurozone. STEADY MARGINSThe gross margin reached a record 60.5%, showing it has been able to pass on higher prices to shoppers. Analysts believe only the strongest global fashion retailers will gain market share in an environment where consumers are becoming more discerning.

Persons: Inditex, Massimo Dutti, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Charlie Devereux, Matt Scuffham, Josephine Mason Organizations: Thomson Locations: MADRID, LONDON, Zara, Spain, United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Europe

☆ PayPal tumbles 12%, eyes lowest close since 2017
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings' (PYPL.O) stock slumped 12% on Tuesday, on track for its lowest close in almost six years, after the payments company cut the outlook for its annual adjusted operating margin. The stock, last trading at $66.45, was set to record its lowest closing price since October 2017. It touched a session low of $66.39, its lowest intra-day price since December. PayPal late on Monday estimated adjusted operating margin expansion of 100 basis points this year, compared with its earlier forecast of 125-basis-point growth. Its stock has fallen 7% in 2023, compared to a 17% rise in the Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC).

☆ How an ex-police officer made $12 million in 3 years after buying ATMs for $2,100 and operating them as a side hustle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

By 2021, he quit his job and began providing ATM machines for others. His company Merchant Task Force, which provides credit-card terminals, shows an income of $844,000 and a net profit of $742,000 for the same period. They had a net profit of about $250 to $500 a month per location from fees charged for withdrawals. When he purchased his first set of six machines, Alex assumed he got a good discount, which was $2,100 an ATM. Each brought in anywhere from $250 to as much as $1,500 a month in net profit.

☆ The Amex Centurion 'black' card has a $5,000 annual fee and a long list of luxury perks, but you can get many of the same benefits with the Amex Platinum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Anna Baluch | Angela Fung | Sarah Silbert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It makes premium credit cards like the Platinum Card ($695 annual fee) and the Amex Business Platinum Card ($695) look downright affordable. Benefits of the Amex Centurion black cardThe Amex Centurion card isn't just a status symbol; it has some great perks, including some unique benefits like complimentary Delta elite status that you won't find on other cards. The Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card offer status with Hilton and Marriott**, but not with IHG and Relais & Châteaux. Unsurprisingly, there's no comparable benefit on the Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card cards**. Once again, the Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card also offer concierge services.

☆ Payment Channels and Types of Transactions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ongoing ecommerce growth is pushing payment providers to make efficient and inexpensive digital payment solutions their top priority despite the ever-changing post-pandemic landscape. By the end of 2026, brick-and-mortar will still account for $4 in $5 spent in retail—making it a critical investment for payment providers despite being less flashy than ecommerce and emerging digital channels. In order to keep shoppers in-store, merchants must broaden their accepted payment methods by allowing proximity mobile payments; contactless cards; buy now, pay later; and account-to-account payment options. As a result of this uptick, payment providers must invest in their mobile shopping and buying experience. Curious to learn more about payment channels and types of transactions?

☆ Payment Channels and Types of Transactions: Digitization, Integration, and the Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

While most retail sales still occur in-store, digital is driving innovation as ecommerce grows. Ongoing ecommerce growth is pushing payment providers to make efficient and inexpensive digital payment solutions their top priority despite the ever-changing post-pandemic landscape. In order to keep shoppers in-store, merchants must broaden their accepted payment methods by allowing proximity mobile payments; contactless cards; buy now, pay later; and account-to-account payment options. As a result of this uptick, payment providers must invest in their mobile shopping and buying experience. Curious to learn more about payment channels and types of transactions?

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