Kroger looks to speed up self-checkout lines

NEW YORK — Fujitsu on Monday unveiled its latest checkout technology at the National Retail Federation trade show. According to the company, the new technology boasts reduced time in lines and a customer-friendly checkout experience.

Fujitsu also said that supermarket giant Kroger currently is evaluating the new technology in a limited number of its stores to boost the retailer's Advanced Checkout areas. Kroger CIO Chris Hjelm said that the retailer noted a steady increased use of its Advantage Checkout lanes and that the response from customers and associates exceeded expectations.

"Customers are ... choosing the Advantage Checkout because of its many enhancements to the shopping experience. These enhancements include increased scanning and bagging speed and accuracy, minimizing of queuing for the payment process and the opportunity for improved associate engagement in both full-service and self-checkout modes," Hjelm said. "We believe this system has the potential to revolutionize the front-end experience in our retail stores, providing a superior checkout experience for our customers and associates."