Wm. Morrison, the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain, has installed state of the art check-out management technology in 300 of its stores to improve check-out wait time and improve the efficiency of staffing.

Using ceiling mounted infrared detectors over checkout lanes, together with detectors counting the number of people entering the store, the system provides real time information on numbers and queuing behaviour of customers such as average queue length, average wait time, and overall store checkout performance.

Available on either PC or PDA mobile device, the system installed by Irisys, displays how many checkouts will be needed in 15 and 30 minutes time to meet customer demand. This allows in-store management to open and close checkouts as necessary so that queue time metrics are met and personnel are deployed in the right place at the right time.

“Ensuring our customers receive the best possible service at the checkouts is one of the most important elements of the shopping experience, but also one of the biggest challenges,” said Sylvia Jones, Head of Retail Operations for Wm Morrison. “By investing in this innovative solution from Irisys we aim to deliver real benefits to all our customers in as cost-effective a manner as possible.”

Morrisons selected the solution following a successful trial at five stores.

Related stories
Morrisons draws in half million more customers