In control: The shopper journey to frictionless checkout in store

Shoppers are looking for convenience in store, but what’s the trade off?

The golden rule of retail is that happy customers are repeat customers. 73% of global shoppers say they want speed and efficiency when shopping in physical grocery stores. This includes paying for their goods as easily and speedily as they picked them off the shelf. This expectation is part of an ongoing journey that began over 70 years ago with the advent of the supermarket, allowing customers to self-serve items instead of waiting for a shopkeeper to assist them.

Yet the shift to ‘speedy’ grocery shopping is now challenged. Increases in shop theft and annual reported stock losses of €100m have prompted retailers to reverse shopper freedom investing heavily in storewide security measures to add locked product cabinets, incorporating more security tags, sealing high-value items such as razor blades and batteries in plastic cases. And nowhere is this reduced freedom felt more acutely than at the end of a scan and go journey, or at self-checkout when waiting for items to be unlocked adds delay to what until then has been an expedient process.

The rising tension to give shoppers the freedom they demand while stemming shop theft is putting pressure on retailers to rethink how they deliver a seamless yet secure store-wide experience.

First-gen self-checkouts: More friction, less freedom

The concept of making the customer’s retail journey as friction-free as possible is not new. Self-checkouts were introduced in 1986 with the promise of enhancing the customer experience – offering greater speed, added convenience, and more customer control.

But as shopper habits evolved, for instance, 40% (+4% YoY) now prefer multiple top-up shops over one big weekly haul, self-service options have struggled to keep pace. At self-checkout, challenges like weighing loose produce, unexpected items in the bagging area, and light items not registering on the bagging scale—issues that only a store employee can fix—force shoppers to wait for a single staff member managing multiple checkouts.

It’s not just self-checkout either. While 77% of shoppers say they’d shop more often at stores offering scan-and-go, this experience isn’t always faster. Problems like unscannable or non-barcoded items, alcohol ID checks, tag removal and random bag inspections can all interrupt the shopper flow – turning a convenient option into a frustrating one.

On top of these friction points is a sharp rise in losses. First generation self-checkout lanes now account for a shrink rate more than 16 times higher than traditional cashier lanes, largely due to partial scanning or barcode switching. Scan-and-go setups fare no better, with losses increasing by up to 43%.

It’s evident why retailers have implemented storewide security measures, yet in doing so have added ‘woe’ and delay to the checkout process.

But it doesn’t have to be like this.

Improving the shopper journey with vision AI

Self-checkouts and self-service options, are not going away. When given the option, 84% of US customers choose self-checkout. It’s logical. It’s a continuation of the self-service journey we have come expect. If we can select our own items from a shelf, then surely, we can check out by ourselves?

It’s therefore a question of balancing security measures with customer convenience to enhance the shopping journey. The answer? Add ‘intelligence’ to the system.

Where loss prevention has typically relied on obstructive physical deterrents such as security tags that must be manually removed, Vision AI (or computer vision) enables an unobtrusive, 24/7 technology that offers a transformative alternative, enabling retailers to reduce shrink and deliver a seamless, convenient shopping experience from aisle to checkout to exit.

How does Vision AI work in practice?  Let’s start at the self-checkout.

At self-checkout, Vision AI-powered systems can instantly detect missed scans, barcode switching, or walk-aways. When an anomaly is detected—such as a high-value item not being scanned—the system can prompt the shopper to correct the mistake or discreetly alert staff, reducing shrink by more than 50%. But more importantly, shoppers using AI-powered self-checkouts have seen a more than 15% reduction in employee  interventions, keeping shoppers and their transactions moving.

The technology is sophisticated enough to recognise fresh produce and non-barcoded items, even distinguishing between similar-looking products (e.g., avocados vs. pears), ensuring accurate transactions and minimising opportunities for both intentional and accidental loss.

How can Vision AI power loss-prevention across store and give shoppers freedom back?

Let’s zoom out to examine the role of vision AI in loss prevention throughout the store, particularly with high-value items like bottles of spirits. These items are often security tagged, and in some cases locked away to prevent theft. These measures may prevent some theft, but they often slow down honest customers, creating unnecessary friction in their journey. These deterrents can be enough to put off honest shoppers from buying products entirely, meaning retailers are losing sales on products which they have paid more to protect.

Give shoppers freedom, keep inventory secure and power retail insights with Vision AI – it’s a win-win

Vision AI-powered loss-prevention systems are already reducing shrink and making brick and mortar stores more efficient, but the technology has the potential to transform the physical retail landscape, providing retailers with new insights to optimise operations and deliver a superior data-driven customer experience.

For retailers already embracing computer vision technology, the challenge is to ensure an approach which doesn’t lead to further fractured, siloed solutions. To future-proof investment in this area, retailers should consider a platform approach to their vision AI deployments that is extendable, can support multiple use cases over time, ensure that devices, AI models, and compute power are shared, underpinned by a unified dashboard with shared insights, notifications, and actions.

Crucially, retailers shouldn’t need a new system for every use case. A platform offering a marketplace-style approach gives retailers access to the right tools for the job – whether that’s an in-house solution or a best-in-class third party application. By connecting multiple applications together retailers bring insights into one place, unlocking value far beyond loss prevention in areas such as:

• Planogram compliance for stock gaps, audit, and checkout
  Vision AI can enable real-time stock gaps or misplaced items vs. planogram, alerting staff to correct errors and refill shelves. This minimises out-of-stock situations and ensures customers always find what they need, including those shopping online where orders are fulfilled from store stock.
• Store automation and monitoring
  Vision AI-powered systems can automate routine tasks such as spill detection. These connected systems can trigger instant alerts for staff to respond or can be sent to sanitation robots for automatic deployment and clean-up to help maintain a safe shopping environment.
• Heatmaps & traffic flow analysis
  By mapping customer movement, Vision AI reveals high-traffic and cool areas, as well as bottlenecks, allowing retailers to optimise store layouts, product placement, and promotional displays for maximum impact and great convenience for customers.
• Smarter staff deployment
  Real-time visibility into store activity enables dynamic staff allocation, ensuring customer assistance is available where and when it’s needed most.

Conclusion: Vision AI a smarter path to frictionless retail

Computer vision isn’t just a back-office tool—it’s a frontline enabler of better shopping experiences. By reducing friction, rethinking security, and unlocking real-time insights, Vision AI helps retailers deliver what shoppers value most: speed, ease, and control.

As Gartner notes, next-generation technologies like computer vision are generating new market opportunities and unlocking business value across industries. For retail, the projected $12.8 billion revenue opportunity by 2031 is a clear signal: now is the time to invest in scalable innovation that doesn’t compromise the shopper experience.

Retailers who embrace intelligent, flexible solutions today won’t just reduce shrink—they’ll reimagine the in-store experience and create environments where shoppers feel trusted, empowered, and eager to return.