Will Slow Checkout Lanes Appeal To Americans?

Jumbo, the Dutch grocery chain, has introduced a special checkout lane – Kletskassa (“chat checkout”) – designed for customers, particularly older people, who don’t want to be rushed and who look forward to some social time with the cashier.

The first “slow” lane opened in 2019 to support a Dutch government initiative, “One Against Loneliness.” According to Statistics Netherlands, 1.3 million Dutch citizens are over 75 and one-third have reported feeling at least moderately lonely.

Jumbo now has 200 of the lanes across the country and has also introduced a “chat corner,” where local residents can gather for a cup of coffee.

“Our shops are a meeting place and that means we can do something to combat loneliness,” Jumbo CCO Colette Cloosterman-Van Eerd said in a press release. “The Kletskassa is just one of the things we can do. It’s a small gesture but it’s a valuable one, particularly in a world that is becoming more digital and faster.”

In France, Carrefour and Hyper U. have opened similar slower-paced lanes. “The concept is simple: the checkout is indicated in the aisle by a poster and each customer can choose to go there. The idea is to take the time to chat with the people who want it,” Gaelle Prampart, customer experience manager at Carrefour, told The Republic of Seine et Marne.

Writing for The Robin Report, Arick Wierson said that “slow-moving, chit-chat checkout lines” align with “slow food” and other movements that have arisen  as reactions to to societal pressures to move quickly and that the lanes offer appeal beyond older adults. An unexpected benefit, he said, is that many cashiers favor working the chatty lanes.

Mr. Wierson wrote, “While there are no specific time limits for the customer, the trained cashiers cum kibitzers try to keep the chats to a reasonable length and respect those waiting in line for their chance to palaver.”

At U.S. grocers, the big push is toward investing in self-checkout, an option studies have shown many older consumers find intimidating.

• Jumbo fires the starting shot for the opening of 200 Kletskassa's — Jumbo

• Dutch Supermarket Adds “Slow Checkout Lanes” for Senior Citizens Who Could Use a Chat — My Modern Met

• Carrefour launches blabla checkouts, where you can take the time to chat — The Republic of Seine et Marne

• Slow Checkout Is a Competitive Advantage — The Robin Report

• Why the elderly hate 'unfriendly' self-service tills: Quarter find the machines intimidating and miss the real people they can talk to at the checkout — The Daily Mail

• Ageism in the Self-checkout Lane — Next Avenue

• Should grocers open slow checkout lanes for seniors? — RetailWire