How much UX superiority is due to the shorter lines? I definitely prefer self-checkout at Walmart, but if their cashiers were as efficient as e.g. ALDI it wouldn't be as valuable
ALDI gets me through the checkout faster than I could do it myself at the other large grocery chains, primarily because they have put in place efficiencies throughout the whole supply chain. Eg the Barcode is as long as the side of the box it's on for most items, and the PoS machine is simple with highly optimised lookups so you can scan a hell of a lot of product quickly. My local self serves need time to think between my lazy scanning, and then time to think about every other step along the way. I'm almost convinced a study or three have suggested that the slower the software the more chance I'll purchase the chocolate next to the machine.
ALDI and Trader Joe's* have both moved into my area in the past decade or two. Neither has self-checkout. Only ALDI has the big barcodes.
What I notice is that both seem to have "customer checkout MUST be fast" as a C-suite priority. Vs. big American stores love their "something went wrong again, so now we all stand and wait while the cashier and manager try to figure this out" delays. Or have several idle employees hanging around while one hard-working cashier has a dozen+ customers waiting in line. Or have "Special Offers" which require the cashier to stop and handle paperwork for several minutes. Or...
*ALDI and Trader Joe's have closely related, German management & ownership:
