Blog: Deliver More with Strategic Self-Service

Now, as Head of Retail Sales for North America at DN, I’m focused on helping retailers rethink self-service—especially in grocery, general merchandise, convenience, and QSR—by finding smarter, more flexible ways to deliver great customer experiences without overcomplicating operations.

At Diebold Nixdorf, we believe the next era of self-service isn’t about how many units a retailer can install—it’s about how well those systems fit the environment they’re in. Not just more, but better. Not just faster, but smarter and, critically, more open. In fact, according to the latest Tech Trends Study from Progressive Grocer, 43% of grocery retailers see open architecture as a critical success factor in the evolution of checkout—highlighting just how important flexibility and interoperability have become.

 That matters at a time when tailored, intelligent self-service solutions are driving customer satisfaction, reducing operational friction, and boosting profitability in an environment where retailers are competing for historically tight pocketbooks.

Between 2018 and 2023, self-checkout adoption surged—96% of retailers¹ offered it, and usage nearly doubled. With labor shortages and rising demand for contactless convenience, the timing made sense. Today, some retailers are refining their approach: limiting self-checkout to smaller basket sizes or reintroducing associates into the checkout flow. These shifts aren’t signs of retreat—they’re part of a broader optimization strategy, ensuring self-service continues to deliver value where it matters most.

Yet, for retailers, it remains important to understand their customer data at checkout to continually optimize their operations and get ahead of future challenges. Shoppers expect self-checkout to be intuitive and quick, and that trend isn’t going anywhere. Retailers must continually be vigilant in avoiding customer frustration at checkout lanes. In fact, 67% of consumers² say they’ve experienced issues with SCO, and 41% of consumers who avoid self-service checkout³ do so because they experienced a slower checkout or believe the process to be slower.

Meanwhile, store operations are stretched thin. More devices mean more oversight, more maintenance, and—without the right safeguards—more exposure to loss. The NRF reported retail shrink hit $112.1 billion in 2022⁴, and unattended self-checkout zones remain a major pressure point.

More Open: Responding to Industry Challenges with Adaptability

What we’re seeing is a shift in mindset. The goal isn’t to eliminate cashiers or flood the floor with terminals. It’s to match technology to the real-life needs of stores and shoppers. That requires more than just equipment—it requires strategy.

At Diebold Nixdorf, our approach to self-service is built on four key ideas: More Open. More Available. More Modular. More Innovative. These aren’t buzzwords—they’re the foundation for how we help retailers get more out of the systems they deploy.

One of the core tenets of ‘More Open’ is modularity. Our DN Series^® EASY platform is designed to grow with a retailer’s needs. If you want to upgrade scanners, add a payment module, or introduce AI-powered cameras, you don’t need to replace the whole unit—you just adapt it. That flexibility extends the system’s lifespan and reduces long-term costs.

The ‘More Open’ strategy represents more than hardware advancements; it represents a commitment to client freedom of choice, interoperability, and smoother integrations. Our open APIs allow retailers to take existing tech and connect it with advanced systems tailored to their customers’ needs. It’s an agile approach that allows for the intersection of process and tech to be optimized to spec, no matter how detailed.

But the real difference happens when strategy meets execution. That’s why our Storevolution^™ Advisory Services go beyond hardware. We work alongside retailers to simulate store layouts, identify performance gaps, and design self-checkout journeys that reflect how each store actually runs. Then, we help train associates, track outcomes, and adjust over time; what works today might not work six months from now.

The Opportunity Ahead for Early Adopters

A wave of opportunity is cresting among early adopters — retailers who rolled out self-checkout five, six, even seven years ago. These organizations are now facing the realities of aging hardware, outdated interfaces, and systems that limit their ability to scale new technologies and keep up with customer expectations.

This is where Diebold Nixdorf’s approach stands out. Our solutions are designed to plug into existing environments. We’re more open—able to integrate with legacy systems and platforms—and more modular, so retailers can upgrade what’s needed without starting from scratch. For many, that’s not just a benefit—it’s a business case.

Retailers don’t need more self-checkout; they need smarter self-checkout driven by the latest technologies that anticipate and resolve customer friction before it happens. That means systems that are responsive, flexible, and designed around people—not just process. As we look to 2026 and beyond, the retailers who succeed won’t be the ones with the most technology. They’ll be the ones who make technology work better for shoppers, for staff, and for their bottom line.

To dive deeper into the conversation, contact us.

Sources:
¹ www.fmi.org
² fitsmallbusiness.com
³  capitaloneshopping.com
⁴  capitaloneshopping.com