NCR software platform and self-checkout solutions refine Morrisons’ customer experience; extending shopping experience and improving operational efficiency

LONDON, UK, March 20, 2014 - NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), the global leader in consumer transaction technologies, announced today that leading U.K. supermarket, Morrisons has deployed NCR software, self-checkout (SCO) and scanner solutions throughout a new lab store in Preston, U.K. NCR software and hardware improves the Morrisons omni-commerce shopping experience for their customers and introduces new ways that customers can browse, select and purchase items.

Morrison’s chose NCR’s innovative Retalix 10 software suite to drive its omni-commerce approach, improving customer engagement and providing a flexible, agile platform for Morrisons to roll-out new promotions, channels and retail strategies. In addition, Morrisons has also deployed NCR SelfServ™ Checkout with the RealScan™ 78 Hybrid scanner and scale solution to further improve customer service and drive operational efficiency. Modified NCR SelfServ Checkout solutions are also being deployed as kiosk order-points for customers to pre-order food and beverages for collection at the in-store restaurant.

“Tech-savvy consumers are directly influencing the way that we interact with them, so we must respond accordingly,” said Adrian Stanbury, interim CIO at Morrisons. “The in-store experience remains important, but increasingly important is matching the variety of consumer engagement tools with the growing, always-on mobile population. To achieve this we required a proven technology partner with a hardware-enabled, software-driven offering that could quickly and effectively implement appropriate solutions.”

The NCR solution unifies and streamlines deployment and management of in-store, mobile commerce and online storefront systems. The solution uses the Retalix 10 retail platform, a uniquely powerful code base with a common data and services foundation that assures high operational efficiency. It also provides an enhanced, seamlessly consistent and personalized shopper experience across all sales channels and customer touch points, such as mobile and self-checkouts.

”Business infrastructure has to be more agile and flexible to meet the ever changing demands of consumers in an omni-commerce environment,” said Helen Wilde, retail business director at NCR U.K. “Supermarkets, such as Morrisons, are growing their business by attracting new customers, getting present customers to stay longer and making their businesses more efficient. The engagement with Morrisons in Preston allows us to support their omni-commerce evolution today and in the years to come.”

People use self-checkout technology for speed and greater control when they shop. Independent studies show consumers are more likely to do repeat business with a retailer that provides self-checkout technology. NCR SelfServ Checkout reduces queue waiting times by up to 40 percent, greatly enhancing the shopping experience. It also allows retail employees to be redeployed from front-end checkout duties to valuable in-aisle functions that ultimately increase retailers’ overall revenue.

Deployed as part of the SCO solution, NCR’s innovative RealScan 78 is the world’s first hybrid imaging and laser bi-optic scanner, and provides a single interaction point to scan 2D bar codes and mobile devices, as well as traditional bar codes on product labels. Hybrid imaging is the best of both worlds, delivering the speed of traditional laser coupled with imaging to go after hard to read bar codes, cell phones and 2D symbols.