We notice you are visiting from a U.S. Internet provider. 
01/10/2009 -
Self-checkout point-of-sale (POS) terminals, which have already gained substantial footing in the U.S., are spreading quickly across Europe and other countries as stores search for ways to cut costs during the recession.The UK in particular is seeing high growth in self-checkout POS technology, especially in supermarkets, the Financial Times reported.
The European grocery chain Tesco recently became the largest self-checkout operator in Europe, with more than 2,115 stores in the UK alone featuring these POS terminals.
The Financial Times also cited data from retail consultancy group RBR, which found that the number of UK self-checkout terminals is expected to reach 15,000 in 2011, up from 7,000 in 2008.
Yet the U.S. is even more self-checkout-optimized than the UK, with StorefrontBacktalk.com reporting that more than 80 percent of U.S. supermarkets use the technology.
This increased growth is likely a result of the need to stretch operational dollars - such as the cost of staffing POS terminals and bagging purchases - thanks to the global recession.
The trend is therefore expected to see similar growth around the world - IHL Group reports that self-checkout terminal transactions are expected to grow by $178 billion over last year's figure to generate $775 billion by the end of 2009, and should reach $1.6 trillion by 2013, the Dallas Morning News reported.
