When Should I Boop This?

I’ve begun conducting informal user interviews with the checkout staff at various grocery stores.

It takes two to tango. Image by tonodiaz on Freepik.

I was thrilled (not exaggerating!) when grocery stores started adding a customer-facing scanner for loyalty cards a few years ago. It was easy enough to hand the cashier a card, but as card data migrated to phones, the loyalty portion of the checkout process became uncomfortable enough to consider not using the card at all. (Striking fear into the hearts of Loyalty Program designers everywhere.)

When the pandemic hit, it seemed particularly fortuitous to have transitioned this process to contactless already. The idea of holding my phone in a cashier’s face, or worse, handing it to her, was absolutely not an option now.

But recently at Whole Foods, I scanned my app-generated QR code, and then saw the cashier re-ring the item she had just scanned. I asked her if scanning my phone code interrupts her checkout process. She answered that, yes, sometimes, it does.

Here I thought self-scanning my discount card was a mutual win, I could fumble with my phone and handle it on my own while the cashier was occupied. But added convenience on my end actually still had a cost to the employees.

So I became curious: what’s the best time to scan my loyalty code during the checkout process? And was it the same at every store?

When Is The Best Time To Scan A Loyalty Card or Code?

Whole Foods - generally, at the end (I’ve asked multiple employees, and frankly, it didn’t sound like there was a truly good time to scan my card, which really surprised me given the perception that they’re the most techno-friendly grocer, because they’re owned by Amazon.)

Giant Eagle - any time that’s not while they’re ringing alcohol (a separate software function that pops up and requires ID input, and scanning my card during that window closes their pop-up! Otherwise, it doesn’t impact their process.)

Acme - at the beginning (this is a local chain, they’re usually pretty comfortable entering in a phone number to start the transaction. It’s honestly easier on the customer side to just tell them that, while you’re still loading items onto the belt, than to fuss with my phone at all.)

To actually UX this would require a more formal study (oh, to have a look at the software, particularly Whole Foods,’ from the cashier’s side, in action!) But I loved realizing that the impulse was there for me already, and it was a good one for designers and people alike: pay attention to the humans in the world around you, consider how your actions impact them, figure out if there’s some small habit you could form that would help them out (and then, if you’re a UX’er, figure out how to encourage that habit across users of your product or process.)

At scale, UX allows companies to set up routines that ideally benefit not only their customers, but also their employees. A better employee experience will absolutely result in a better customer experience, but more than that, it’s just good design.