Enhancing Retail Efficiency: Development and Evaluation of a Self-Checkout System

The retail industry is undergoing a paradigm shift with the increasing adoption of self-checkout systems with the goal of improving customer experience and operational efficiency. The present study focuses on exploring the design, development, and testing of a multi-functional self-checkout system incorporating features such as barcode scanning, AI-based product identification, multiple payment options, and security features. With an Agile project management approach, the system was developed for user experience, security, and integration with current retail infrastructure. The study proposes various testing approaches, including black-box, white-box, integration, and security testing, to achieve reliability and usability of the system. A comprehensive risk management and maintenance plan is also proposed to achieve system longevity and flexibility. The findings show that well-designed self-checkout systems can potentially reduce checkout time significantly, improve customer satisfaction, and optimize retail operations without exposing the business to security and user error risks.