Russian retailer Fix Price has announced that it will equip all new stores across its estate with self-service checkouts.
The variety value retailer said that the first batch of self-checkout units are scheduled to be delivered at the end of January, and their rollout will be coordinated according to the group's store opening schedule.
The first self-checkouts are set to be installed in new locations in Kostomuksha (Karelia), Magnitogorsk (Chelyabinsk region), Gulkevichi (Krasnodar region), Sibai (Bashkortostan) and Voskresensk (Moscow region), the company said. All stores will have a combination of self-checkouts and regular checkouts.
During 2022, Fix Price intends to have more than 1,200 self-service checkouts in operation.
'Fulfilled Our Expectations'
“Our initial experience of self-service checkouts fulfilled our expectations," commented Dmitry Kirsanov, chief executive of Fix Price.
"They are popular with customers and reduce staff workload during peak hours, and thus help to increase footfall while also optimising costs. During the pandemic, self-checkouts also support increased levels of safety by reducing customer contact points with store employees.”
Fix Price first installed self-checkout systems at its Botkinsky Proyezd outlet in Moscow, as part of a pilot process, adding that more than 20% of purchases are processed using this system.
Fix Price operates more than 4,900 stores across Russia and neighbouring countries. In 2020, the company reported revenue of RUB 190.1 billion (€2.18 billion).
In October, the group reported a 4.4% increase in like-for-like sales in the third quarter of its financial year.
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