Considerations in the Design of Future Retail Point of Service (POS) Terminal Systems

Abstract

Research studies were conducted in three types of retail stores: supermarkets, discount stores, and department stores. The purpose of these studies was to determine how cashiers and associates spend their time servicing customers, the inter-relationships between physical and cognitive workloads, and how these affect system performance. A detailed task analysis of the cashier's activities comparing performances in these stores was completed. Commonalties and differences in task performances were identified and measured. Task performances were grouped into one of three types: physical, POS, and management. The results showed that physical tasks were performed 39% of the total hour in a supermarket, 57% in the discount store, and 25% in the department store. Physical tasks are those most often identified in ergonomic research. Management tasks were more frequent in the department store; these tasks captured redundant information, i.e. tender approval identification that was already available in system files. These results provide a map for identifying and applying macroergonomic research techniques to integrate POS systems with new features into the retail industry.