NCR is Saying Goodbye to the infamous "Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area"
NCR celebrates the 20th anniversary of its self-checkout and gives a glimpse of future innovations
ATLANTA – January 16, 2018 – NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), the global leader in omni-channel solutions, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its first self-checkout installation and looking at what the future will bring for the technology. Amongst others, NCR is tackling the infamous “unexpected item in the bagging area” with recent innovations. Since NCR installed its first self-checkout in-store on January 20, 1998 in Kansas, self-checkouts have become the biggest queue buster for small to medium transactions in retailing – and a part of pop culture. Research firm RBR forecasts that by 2022, there will be nearly 400,000 self-checkout machines installed by retailers across more than 60 countries worldwide, a global installation growth of 53 percent from 2016.
Today’s self-checkouts are almost unrecognizable versus the early days of the technology. The first self-checkouts were bulky items that took their design cues from ATMs and delivered an awkward experience. But over time, what the ATM did in making fundamental changes to banking, self-checkout did for retail.
Just five years after it installed its first self-checkout, NCR became the leader in the market, and today has a 73 percent market share according to RBR’s Global EPOS and Self-Checkout 2017 study, with its offerings available in 39 countries.
Dusty Lutz, vice president and general manager of Store Transformation Solutions at NCR, said “NCR’s success in self-checkout can be attributed to our one guiding principle: we don’t start with the technology, but how we transform the retailer’s store. We’ve spent the last 20 years working with customers to constantly improve our products, making them more accurate and easy-to-use to provide the best possible shopper experience.”
Today, the newest NCR self-checkout models make use of the latest innovations in technology to address one of the most familiar issues in the self-checkout experience – the “unexpected item in the bagging area”. The latest NCR models are moving away from weight-based detection systems to intelligent image scanners that can recognize items placed on the scanner. As well as removing the pain of the weight-based security alert, these scanners have the additional benefit of making the scanning of non-barcoded items such as fresh fruit and vegetables easier, as the technology can offer suggestions for what the item might be, instead of requiring users to move through menus on the interface. Retailers also benefit as the technology can detect 'item swapping' theft. For example, if a user tries to scan a bottle of wine with a barcode for a bunch of bananas, the machine can spot that and alert staff, helping tackle one of merchants' biggest worries about the technology.
The NCR FastLane SelfServ™ Checkout was recognised with a 2017 GOOD DESIGN award for excellence in product design. The award highlights how NCR’s retail offerings provide consumers with convenient checkout options that help retailers transform their stores into the central hub of the shopping experience, providing a smoother, connected and convenient customer journey.
More information on the journey of NCR’s self-checkout can be found here.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leader in omni-channel solutions, turning everyday interactions with businesses into exceptional experiences. With its software, hardware, and portfolio of services, NCR enables nearly 700 million transactions daily across financial, retail, hospitality, travel, telecom and technology industries. NCR solutions run the everyday transactions that make your life easier. NCR is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., with about 30,000 employees and does business in 180 countries. NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries. NCR encourages investors to visit its website which is updated regularly with financial and other important information about NCR.
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News Media Contacts
Ortrud Wenzel
NCR Public Relations
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[email protected]
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leader in transforming, connecting, and running technology platforms for self-directed banking, stores, and restaurants. NCR is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with 35,000 employees globally. NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.
NCR VOYIX Corporation (NYSE: VYX) is a leading global provider of digital commerce solutions for the retail, restaurant and digital banking industries. NCR VOYIX transforms retail stores, restaurant systems and digital banking experiences with comprehensive, platform-led SaaS and services capabilities. NCR VOYIX is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with approximately 16,000 employees in 35 countries across the globe.
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements use words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “outlook,” “intend,” “plan,” “confident,” “believe,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “potential,” “positioning,” “proposed,” “planned,” “objective,” “likely,” “could,” “may,” and words of similar meaning, as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances. Statements that describe or relate to NCR’s or NCR VOYIX’s plans, goals, intentions, strategies, financial outlook, NCR’s or NCR VOYIX’s expectations regarding the Spin-Off, NCR’s or NCR VOYIX’s intention to consummate the offering and issue the Notes or the intended use of proceeds from the offering of the Notes and enter into the new senior secured credit facilities, and statements that do not relate to historical or current fact, are examples of forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate, and involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are out of the NCR’s and NCR VOYIX’s control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and there are a number of important factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in NCR and NCR VOYIX’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including NCR’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K, most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and NCR VOYIX’s registration statement on Form 10, most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Neither NCR nor NCR VOYIX undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Michael Nelson
NCR Corporation
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Scott Sykes
NCR Corporation
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