Enable Self-Checkout in Magento POS

Magento self-checkout POS is the best option if you want to improve your service at a lower cost. It offers customers more flexibility and allows store owners to reduce the costs of hiring a lot of staff to check customers out. It's a win-win situation, isn't it? 

Though there's still some debate on whether self-checkout is a threat to in-store human interaction, you must have already made up your mind. 

So, in this guide, we'll walk you through the benefits of self-checkout POS and the prerequisites of enabling it in your store. You'll also learn how to set up self-checkout in Magento and go through the customer journey with the Magento POS system.

Benefits of Self-Checkout

Since we've already mentioned some benefits of the self-checkout POS, let's just sum it all up here. 

Reduced business costs 

The biggest benefit of self-checkout is not that it reduces the burden on employees. It eliminates the need to hire a lot of staff in the first place.

Self-service systems installed in restaurants, beauty salons and huge retail stores allow one or two managers to monitor the self-checkout process. It frees up other employees for different tasks and decreases labour costs.

Shorter lines

Long lineups are one of the major pain points of retail stores. According to Githux around 73% of consumers prefer self-checkout over staffed checkout lines. No one wants to wait in line, especially with queues for every checkout. Self-managed terminals help you serve more customers in a shorter period. There is a single queue per multiple terminals which tends to move very quickly. 

Smoother checkout

Many customers enjoy the speed, control over their purchase and privacy of checking out at the self-service terminals. It is also ideal for someone who is in a hurry or has only a few items.

The self-managed terminal allows multiple customers to pay at once which speeds up the order processing rates without additional staffing.

These are just the main reasons why self-checkout POS will benefit your business. The list will go on and on once you start using it.

Before You Enable Self-Checkout in Magento POS

As you probably know what is POS system, you must know that there is certain hardware and software POS system required for it to work. Same here.

You need to have a few devices to enable a self-managed terminal. It requires the following:

• POS system software — to ensure real-time data tracking between your online and offline stores.
• POS device — tablet, mobile or any other touch-screen device used for the self-checkout purpose. Technical specifics of the device directly influence your customers' experience. 
• Barcode reader — if you want to allow customers to add items to their cart instantly. 
• Credit card reader — it is one of the most convenient ways to pay since customers get charged the exact amount, avoiding the change when using cash.
• Receipt printer — this device will hand customers printed receipts in case you don't want to send invoices to them via email.

How to Set Up Magento Self-Checkout?

When you choose the Magefan POS system you choose a reliable solution that offers you a straightforward setup. 

So, once you install Magento 2 POS, there are only a few steps left. 

To set up Magento 2 self-checkout POS: 

1. Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Magefan Extensions > Point of Sale and enable the self-checkout terminal in the Terminal Type field.

2. Set what websites to associate the self-checkout terminal with in a corresponding field.

3. Move to the Self-Checkout Terminal section and configure the timeout popup: 

• Timeout Time (sec) — defines the time of inactivity that triggers the timeout popup. 
• I'm Still Here Time (sec) — defines the time during which the "I'm still here" timer will be displayed before the cart is discharged and the customer (when logged in) is logged out.

Don't forget to Save the settings once you finish and give your self-checkout terminal a try. 

Self-Checkout Customer Journey

After you set up a self-managed terminal in your POS, you need to test it from the customers' perspective.

So, let's see how it goes. 

1. Login 

If you use a plan that allows you to check out customers, this feature also applies to the self-managed terminal. The first step is to log in or choose to checkout as a guest.

2. Choose products 

Once customers land on the POS frontend, they can find products they want to purchase and choose the options to add to the cart. 

If you integrate a barcode reader into your POS system, customers will just need to scan product barcodes to add them to the cart instantly. In fact, it is the best approach.

3. Check order

All items customers add to the cart are available on the left sidebar. There they can change item quantity, remove products from the cart, or empty the cart. 

4. Timeout

In case customers don't touch the screen or do anything within a specified period, the timeout pop-up will appear.

5. Choose payment methods 

Once customers click on Checkout, they are taken to the payment panel with all the POS payment methods you've configured. 

6. Place order

After customers click on the Place Order button, they land on the Checkout Success Page. Here they can choose to continue shopping or Print Receipts. 

The self-checkout process is complete! Was it hard?  

The responsive design of the Magefan POS system allows you to make self-checkout possible from any device. And the straightforward interface enables customers to checkout easier, faster and more conveniently. 

When it comes to checkout with cashiers, the process is slightly different since the cashiers need to start a session when managing POS on frontend. Choose whatever option works for you and make your POS experience better with Magefan!