K-Citymarket’s slow checkout lane is Finland’s successful reminder that not everything needs to be hurried
A supermarket slow lane might sound counterintuitive to some, but the concept has found success in Finland and beyond.
Supermarket checkouts can be stressful. “You’re in a rush to pack your items and suddenly it’s time to pay, and the next person in line is breathing down your neck,” says Finnish shop manager Toni Pokela. “Nobody wants to be the one who creates a hold-up.”
Pokela runs K-Citymarket in Espoo’s Iso Omena shopping centre, one of the few places to offer respite from such anxieties. Above a till at the far end of the shop hangs a sign that says, “Älä hättaile” (Finnish dialect for “Don’t hurry”). Shoppers lining up beneath it are encouraged to take as much time as they need.
As cashier Karoliina Chinsan opens the slow line on a weekday morning, Monocle watches a steady stream of regulars steer their trolleys towards her till. The clientele is skewed towards seniors but also includes families on grocery runs. Many of them pay with cash. Chinsan is happy to pack bags, exchange pleasantries and wait patiently for anyone fumbling for their wallet. “It’s nice for the cashier too,” she says. “You have more time to help the customers.”
The shop introduced the slow till in 2011 after Pokela was approached by a team from Aalto University that was exploring ways to aid life for disabled people. Its launch generated bemusement and scepticism but, 15 years later, it remains a fixture in Pokela’s shop and the idea has been adopted by other K-Markets, as well as by Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo.
“It’s a philosophical choice, rather than a practical one,” says Piia Lehesmaa as she packs groceries alongside her husband. “There’s simply no need to always be in a hurry.”
k-ruoka.fi
