YATA Self Check-out Kiosk - Enhancing Convenience and Customer Experience
CHALLENGES
Yata, a Japanese supermarket chain in Hong Kong, faced significant challenges in its existing check-out process. The reliance on staff for check-out caused inefficiencies, particularly during peak hours, leading to longer wait times and reduced customer satisfaction. Additionally, many competing supermarkets had already adopted self-check-out kiosks, giving them a competitive edge in convenience and operational efficiency.
To stay competitive, Yata recognised the need for an enhanced UX & UI Design approach and modern kiosk development to elevate the overall customer digital experience. Yata needed a solution to address these issues while enhancing the overall customer experience and promoting their membership program.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
To overcome these challenges, Yata partnered with DigiSalad to design a fully customised self-check-out kiosk, integrating UX & UI Design best practices to ensure the interface was intuitive and user-friendly. This innovative solution aimed to streamline operations, improve customer satisfaction, and encourage membership engagement. By focusing on user-friendly design and operational functionality, DigiSalad delivered a self-check-out kiosk development solution that met Yata’s goals and positioned them as a forward-thinking retailer.
KEY FEATURES
Seamless and Flexible Check-Out Process
Customers can begin the check-out process by scanning their products if they are non-members or by scanning their membership cards to collect points and enjoy exclusive benefits. The kiosk also supports manual selection for non-barcoded items, such as fresh vegetables or plastic bags, ensuring flexibility for all types of purchases. Throughout the process, users can view a real-time overview of their scanned products, including product details, quantities, unit costs, applied promotions, and the accumulated total, keeping them informed every step of the way. To ensure clarity during each step, the interface was refined with thoughtful UX & UI Design enhancements that help users navigate smoothly and confidently.
Membership Program Integration and Promotion Display
The kiosk actively promotes Yata’s membership program by showcasing its benefits and providing a QR code for instant app downloads, encouraging non-members to join immediately. It also highlights Yata’s monthly promotions, strategically placed to upsell products and increase customer spending during the check-out process. These on-screen elements were structured as part of the overall kiosk development, ensuring that both functional flow and promotional visibility work hand in hand.
Comprehensive Payment Options with Discounts and Rewards
The kiosk is designed to provide customers with a seamless and flexible payment experience by supporting a variety of payment methods. Customers can choose to pay using QR codes from Alipay, WeChat Pay, or PayMe, as well as traditional credit cards or Yata credit cards. For Yata credit cards, the kiosk automatically displays and applies the unique discounts associated with each card, ensuring customers maximize their savings.
Additionally, the kiosk accommodates payments via Yata cash coupons, with clear on-screen details outlining the usage criteria and any applicable discounted amounts. If staff verification is required for the coupons, the kiosk provides a helpful reminder to ensure the process is smooth.
As part of the Sun Hung Kai Properties group, Yata has also integrated the The Point loyalty program into the kiosk, allowing customers to convert their accumulated points from The Point into payments for their purchases.
This flexible and reliable payment system not only simplifies the transaction process but also enhances customer satisfaction by offering options that reward loyalty and create added value during checkout.
Support for Assistance and Compliance
A dedicated help button is available for customers to request staff assistance when needed. This feature ensures a seamless experience for pricing issues, alcohol age verification, or other concerns that may arise during check-out.
SOLUTIONS IMPLEMENTED BY DIGISALAD
Inclusive Design for Accessibility
DigiSalad prioritized an inclusive approach to designing the kiosk, ensuring it could accommodate a wide range of users with different physical abilities and needs. The kiosk’s UX and UI design was carefully crafted to be accessible to individuals of varying heights, including children and wheelchair users, by incorporating an adjustable screen angle and strategically placed input areas. Button placements, text sizes, and screen prompts were optimized for clarity and ease of use, reducing barriers for those with limited dexterity or visual impairments. By ensuring accessibility for all, the kiosk not only complies with modern inclusive design standards but also creates a welcoming shopping experience that reflects Yata’s commitment to serving every customer with care and consideration.
First-Time User Support
Recognizing that many customers might be unfamiliar with self-check-out kiosks, DigiSalad prepared helpful tutorials directly into the interface to guide first-time users. These tutorials use simple yet effective illustrations alongside concise, easy-to-read instructions to explain how to navigate the system step by step. Key actions, such as scanning items, adding non-barcoded products, and selecting payment methods, are clearly demonstrated to minimize confusion and frustration. The tutorials are designed to be non-intrusive, activating only when needed, while the kiosk interface itself remains intuitive enough for users to quickly grasp without extensive guidance. This thoughtful onboarding experience empowers customers to confidently use the kiosk, ensuring a smooth and stress-free transition to the self-check-out system.
CONCLUSION
The self-check-out kiosk designed by DigiSalad has revolutionized the shopping experience at Yata. By addressing operational inefficiencies and creating a user-friendly UX & UII Design, DigiSalad enabled Yata to reduce reliance on staff, promote their membership program, and improve customer convenience. This digital transformation has positioned Yata as a visionary supermarket in the competitive retail landscape.
