MORE ON DIY CHECKOUT
My friend Jeff Taylor, whom readers may know as the writer of Reason Express sends this link to an absolute category-killer of an article on the introduction of DIY checkout services in Albertson's. It's not the world's best writing, but if you're at all interested in how information technology is changing retailing, it's well-worth a read. Jeff points out this fun "creative destruction" fact:
Albertson's is installing 4,500 NCR self-checkout terminals in its 2,300 stores at an estimated cost of $16 million to $20 million. The machines normally cost about $20,000 each, but the company snagged the first 4,000 "for pennies on the dollar" from lessor GE Capital, which had picked them up from bankrupted retailer Kmart.
Of course, that very fact illustrates that technology alone can't save a struggling retailer.