Speciality Food Magazine

According to new research from the voucher code website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, 73% of consumers find automated tills the most infuriating part of shopping for food.

“Whilst the self-scanning machines have been introduced to most supermarkets as a method of easing the stress of a weekly shop, it appears that for a large majority of the British public, they are doing quite the opposite,” says Mark Pearson, managing director of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk. “Although they may ease queue congestion, the anger they invoke when they fail to work properly is turning a lot of people off using them altogether,” he added.

Marks & Spencer was the first British retailer to pilot self-service tills in a few stores back in 2002, and since then the practice has been adopted by the majority of the bigger chains, including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's. However, independent retailers are viewing the findings as further proof that customers favour face-to-face contact over automated service. “This is why it is so important for speciality stores to offer personal, knowledgeable service. It's an area where we really can beat the multiples,” says Katharine Lilly, owner of Village Deli in Wivenhoe.

“Although some people do want to get in and out of the supermarket as quickly as possible, I think the majority appreciate being treated like individuals. The results of the study suggest that being served by a person instead of a computer is certainly preferable for most people,” she adds.