Hollywood Supermarket to Offer Self-Service Checkout Stations

A Food 4 Less supermarket in Hollywood this week will be the first in Los Angeles to introduce self-service checkout stands.

Starting Thursday, the four lanes--designed to take the place of the express line--will allow customers to scan their own groceries and pay by cash, debit card or credit card, much as they would at a vending machine.

The U-Scan Express stands, designed to allow supermarkets to save on labor costs and attract time-strapped consumers, are also being used in two Food 4 Less stores in San Diego County and in 400 other stores operated by the chain’s parent, Kroger Inc.

In the Hollywood Food 4 Less at 5420 Sunset Blvd., four of the 16 checkout stands will be checker-free. The system uses touch screens, change makers and bank card readers to process transactions.

However, lest shoppers think they can pull a fast one and scan less than what’s in their cart, an attendant will be monitoring the lanes, and at a station near the entrance another employee will monitor closed-circuit televisions. Although self-checkout stands have been available for more than a decade, the industry has been slow to adopt the technology, industry representatives say. “There hasn’t exactly been a mass rush for it,” said Dave Heylen, of the California Grocers Assn.

Safeway Inc. executives say they tried to use self-checkout stands years ago on the East Coast but the technology was poor and the idea didn’t catch on with consumers.

Now that new machines are easier to use, Safeway has begun testing them in a few of their stores. “We are going to try it and see how consumers respond to it,” Safeway spokesman Brian Dowling said.