When customers walk into a retail store, they expect a complete, memorable experience, with little to no hassles. And although a dedicated retailer tries their best to check all the requirements of customer satisfaction, they often fall flat at one factor – checkout.

Checkout can make or break the customer’s entire experience: if they wait just a moment too long before checking out, they’ll immediately feel frustrated, souring any prior good experience. Businesses find it difficult to tie off the entire process with an up-to-par ending – it is hence no surprise that companies are switching to faster checkout methods.

A danger of The Long Line

The long line is a menace because it is capable of ruining the entire customer experience when you least expect it. In fact, studies have shown that slow checkout frustrates shoppers the most. Customers may leave the shop entirely without having to face the long line, or they’ll grow a strong dislike towards the shop’s service methods, making them less likely to come visit again. After all, customers don’t want to come back if it took them too long to leave before – and we can’t blame them.

This shows how a long, time-consuming checkout line ultimately leads to customer fallout. Simply put, consumers don’t feel valued or appreciated if they have to wait an unnecessarily long time to leave the premises. The only solution to that is – of course, speedy checkout.

Rise of Speedy Checkout

Speedy checkout is on the rise for all the right reasons. Larry Logan, CMO of Digimarc, has summed this up quite eloquently, saying, “Checkout is the last opportunity a retailer has to make a positive impression on a shopper.”

Hence, fast checkout gives consumers the perfect end experience – a fast, smooth exit from the store. Neither do they feel unimportant, nor do they feel like a burden to the store. As soon as customers associate your store with “fast departing”, they’ll also associate your premises with “good customer experience”. The fact that they feel their time being valued directly contributes to increased customer retention, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Speedy checkout also improves customer experience by encouraging an air of modernity – using advanced technology shows consumers that you’re up-to-date with new advancements. This, in turn, creates a positive yet competitive impression in the business world.

Implementations for the Retailer

The most common method of quickening the checkout process is the use of bar-codes; updated bar-code technology has served to reduce scanning inefficiencies tremendously, and increase the checkout pace. Another method includes introducing multiple payment methods in a single platform; this gives the customer a range of choice to pick from when paying so that their preferences are not ignored.

However, one technology that has successfully integrated both multiple payment methods and bar-code scanning technology is the POS terminal.

Today’s POS systems have become entirely automated; Smart billing systems in Pakistan like Oscar POS have taken modern technology, and have spearheaded the speedy checkout movement. With multiple payment methods, a retailer can ensure quick transactions, all while making sure their customers’ data is kept secure. Furthermore, Oscar’s hardware includes laser bar-code scanners, which have proven to be simpler to use, and faster than regular scanners. In fact, Oscar knows how valuable customer retention is for any retailer – and their systems make sure the line at your store never stays static.


The future calls for light-speed checkout systems for maximum customer satisfaction. And although it seems like a fantasy scenario, we can be certain that it will come about one way or another. Considering how fast the world’s technology is changing, the business world is bound to keep up and implement new solutions.