Combined sales from self-service kiosks of all kinds reached more than $161 billion last year and could climb to $1 trillion in 2006, USA Today has reported.
The newspaper cited estimates from IHL Consulting, a technology research firm.
IHL also estimated that about 95 percent of U.S. supermarkets would use self-checkout of some sort by 2006, compared with 6 percent five years ago.
In addition, Forrester Research told the newspaper that from 2001 to 2003, there was a 78% increase in the number of people who use kiosks for airport check-ins. The labor-cost savings to airlines is an average $3.52 a person.
Last month, nearly 75% of Northwest Airlines' customers used self-service check-in kiosks, and the airline expects that to rise to 80% by the end of the year.
"It's empowering," said Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce in the article. "People like to browse and claim the aisle seat." Since 1999, Northwest has spent $10 million on self-serve check-in equipment.
In the retail sector, Home Depot stores with the self-checkout option attribute 34% of their sales in those lanes.
"This is far, far bigger than we anticipated," said Bob DeRodes, Home Depot's executive vice president of information technologies. Kiosk self-service is now found in just over half of Home Depot's 1,540 U.S. stores.
