You probably don't think much about it, but everything is automated these days. Banks, vending machines, petrol stations, just about everything is becoming self-serve.

The way that consumers receive services is changing with the marketplace.

In today's world of retail, most customers see interactions with service staff as secondary to speed, convenience, and most of all, privacy.

"People love using self-serve machines," says David W Danvers, director of industry marketing with NCR's retail solutions department in Atlanta. NCR is the world's largest ATM manufacturer and a global self-service leader.More than ever before, consumers can avoid exchanging half-hearted pleasantries with cashiers, asking for small change, or waiting in long, slow queues.

These are everyday concerns for many shoppers. A new self-checkout system makes these headaches a thing of the past, enabling shoppers to scan, bag and pay for goods themselves using debit or credit cards.

The machines also double as automatic teller machines (ATMs) and spare change machines.

ATMs are only the first step for a booming industry that will provide self-service options at supermarkets, airports, hotels and even post offices. Consumers globally completed US$70 billion worth of self-serve transactions in 2003. That amount is expected to reach US$330 billion by 2007, says Tennessee-based IHL Consulting, which tracks the self-serve market.

China has proven to the world that it is a force to be reckoned with. Its vast population of 1.3 billion offers a wealth of potential for opportunistic retailers.

Interest in this huge market was renewed on December 11, 2004, when restrictions preventing foreign retailers from operating wholly owned stores were eased in accordance with China's commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Kevin Ho, vice-president of NCR's retail solutions department for the Asia-Pacific region, says the company is now working with partners to launch China's first self-checkout system in the near future."Clear consumer benefits and cost reductions for businesses are driving the spread of self-service technology," says Ho.

Research conducted for NCR by IDC found that retailers offering self-checkouts in the United States are seeing up to 50 per cent of transactions processed through this technology. Consumers across seven countries cited faster checkouts, shorter queues and more choices as the top benefits.

They presented clear reasons why many consumers choose self-service as an alternative to traditional manned checkouts.

Mike Webster, vice president and general manager for retail self-services at NCR, says automated transactions offer better service. People around the world can now withdraw cash from ATMs, print their own boarding passes at airports and pump their own petrol. They use kiosks to view gift registries, learn which wine will complement their meal, order food, pay their bills and check into hotels.

"Self-services will eventually be expected by consumers," Webster says.

"We are also now seeing CRM (customer relations management) campaigns delivered through self-services, making the experience even more personal and meaningful for the consumer, while generating significantly better response rates than direct mail."

The successful introduction of self-services gives businesses more flexibility in labour deployment, provides cost savings and frees up staff to improve service in other areas.

This flexibility offers enterprises opportunities to differentiate themselves from competitors, says Webster.

If businesses get these things right, he says, they will achieve significant transaction volumes through self-service channels over the next few years.

Consumers, however, will likely demand integration with other customer channels and emerging technologies.

Consortiums such as Europe's MobiCom are working to understand the technical issues behind how consumers can use mobile phones or PDAs (personal digital assistants) to conduct everyday retail and banking transactions via self-services and store technology.

This includes incorporating radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in mobile devices as possible communications technologies for e-payments.

Supply chain implementation of RFID is already underway, and retailers and technology vendors are also working to understand the long-term impact on store environments. This includes self-service applications, and how retailers can make the best use of additional consumer data likely to be generated by RFID tags. The fundamental challenge is to realize how retailers can deliver meaningful benefits to customers while reducing operational costs.

Consumers want to choose how they interact with retailers, says Webster, and this is a huge trend that will continue to influence how retailers deploy technology.

Consumers might choose paper receipts or electronic versions sent to their mobile phones, for example, on transactions paid for by cash, card, mobile or biometric fingerprint.

Experts say that this will lead to a new do-it-yourself economy. Customers do the work of employees without getting paid for it in a classic example of "cost shifting." Retailers will require less staff, and the cheaper technology lowers costs and boosts productivity.

"Self-service technology must be useful, easy to use and reliable. Companies need to design intuitive interfaces that incorporate technologies such as audio instructions to help consumers through transactions," Webster says.

"They must also help retailers use technology in effective ways. Research shows that staff still must be trained to encourage customers to use the technology through clear and consistent signage."

(China Daily 10/31/2005 page3)