A new option in the effort to reduce wait times in checkout lines extends on previous techniques by calculating not only how many people are in each line but also how full their carts are and how quickly each cashier scans the items. In a test Hy-Vee store in Nebraska, the system gathers all these data and then determines the speed of each checkout line. Lights above the registers flash green, yellow, or red, signaling which ones are fastest and which are stuck in place. Customers then can select a line that is moving well; managers can see easily when too many yellow lights are shining and thus open new lines to get things moving. Some similar innovations instead count customers as they enter the store and make recommendations for how many lines to open. This version promises to go further by considering cart volume too. Accordingly, it has reduced wait times in the pilot store by more than a minute.

Source: Matthew Stern, Retail Wire, December 28, 2016