Simulation modelling for retail self-checkouts: performance analysis and optimisation

Many retail stores have installed self-checkout lanes in addition to their regular cashier counters. However, there has been no quantitative research regarding whether self-checkouts actually decrease average wait times during checkout. This study conducted a simulation to estimate customer wait times at checkouts of both types – cashiers and self-checkout. The simulation parameters were modified based on real-world data from an existing study. We present the patterns of the wait times, number of waiting customers over arrival rates, and the number of checkout counters. We also demonstrate use of the goal programming optimisation method to show how retail stores could manage self-checkout lanes along with conventional cashier lanes.