Shopping as social experience
Image via Jumbo
"Jumbo, the Dutch supermarket chain, recently introduced slow checkouts when it discovered some people enjoy chatting while paying for their goods. The added personal touch is helping many people, especially the elderly, deal with loneliness. The move has proven so successful that Jumbo plans to install what it calls Kletskassas in 200 stores.
"Carrefour, the giant French supermarket chain, is following suit with special checkout lanes for people who want to socialize. Other French retailers, Système U and Auchan, are not far behind with their own slowed-down checkouts."
According to this article, shoppers are not the only ones who benefit from what the French call "blablabla caisses". Cashiers report report "a new sense of self-esteem and happiness from working at the slow checkouts. It comes from the joy of interacting and being the cause of joy for other people. One cashier reported she did not notice the hours passing. The personal touch made it seem that she was working in her own little business." - John Horvatt II
Article: Is There a Future for Chit Chat Checkouts?