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Why do supermarkets have so many checkout lanes?

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I was at my local supermarket today and I counted over forty checkout lanes, of which I've seen a maximum of twenty being used at any given time.

Why are there so many checkout lanes? Given that the hardware for such setups probably costs >$10,000 per lane, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to cut costs?

The weird thing is, the supermarket just remodeled their checkout lanes last year and added about 20 of them (there used to be 20, now there are more than 40).
 
I guess you are lucky. At the King Stupids near me, every lane is completely full all of the time. Its a shame they don't have 10-20 more
 
They would be if every memeber of the anandtech forums went shopping at the store at the same time 😉
 
So you were at a store on a wednesday, most likely beteween the hours of 8-5, and you didn't see enough people for them to have someone working at all the registers, and you concluded that it must be that way always?
 
Originally posted by: torpid
So you were at a store on a wednesday, most likely beteween the hours of 8-5, and you didn't see enough people for them to have someone working at all the registers, and you concluded that it must be that way always?
Click to expand...
I was there the day after thanksgiving when all their big sales were in effect, and like I said in my original post, less than half of the checkout lanes were being used.
 
I can't think of a single store that *never* has more than half their checkout lanes full. A grocery store is of course unlikely to be full the day after thanksgiving. Try going the night before thanksgiving from about 5-8pm. Or any sunday/saturday between 12-3pm. If your grocery store is the one grocery store on the planet that is not crowded enough during these times, maybe I will move to ann arbor.
 
Originally posted by: MisterCornell
Like expressway lanes, and airport gates, they build enough to manage peak traffic.
Click to expand...
*looks at I5*
*remember O'Hare*

You mean they build enough to manage about half of peak demand, right? 😛

ZV
 
As near as I can tell the only day I have ever seen all the checkout lanes open is the day before Thanksgiving. So basically they are spending a small fortune on registers for one day of the year. :/
 
Originally posted by: jumpr
Originally posted by: torpid
So you were at a store on a wednesday, most likely beteween the hours of 8-5, and you didn't see enough people for them to have someone working at all the registers, and you concluded that it must be that way always?
Click to expand...
I was there the day after thanksgiving when all their big sales were in effect, and like I said in my original post, less than half of the checkout lanes were being used.
Click to expand...

day after thanksgiving isn't a huge day for grocery stores...
 
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: MisterCornell
Like expressway lanes, and airport gates, they build enough to manage peak traffic.
Click to expand...
*looks at I5*
*remember O'Hare*

You mean they build enough to manage about half of peak demand, right? 😛

ZV
Click to expand...

Haha so true about O'hare, but honestly it wasnt that bad every time i flew in and out.

Now the bridge theyve had down to 4 lanes for half a decade now on I-90 that someone ALWAYS seems to wreck on, thats a problemo.
 
Originally posted by: Acanthus
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: MisterCornell
Like expressway lanes, and airport gates, they build enough to manage peak traffic.
Click to expand...
*looks at I5*
*remember O'Hare*

You mean they build enough to manage about half of peak demand, right? 😛

ZV
Click to expand...

Haha so true about O'hare, but honestly it wasnt that bad every time i flew in and out.

Now the bridge theyve had down to 4 lanes for half a decade now on I-90 that someone ALWAYS seems to wreck on, thats a problemo.
Click to expand...

Well, ideally that's what they are built for. Some places that is not possible given the limited resources. Also they're not built to handle the absolute all time peak, but a more general day-to-day average peak.

Also having worked as a grocery packer at Kroger, I can assure you that there are many times when all lanes have been busy. That time is typically 5 pm.
 
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