Do customers actually like using AI checkout?#
Yes. Surveys across convenience stores, campuses, stadiums, and ski resorts consistently show most shoppers prefer Mashgin's AI checkout, mainly because it's faster and they don't have to scan items themselves.
| Survey | Finding |
|---|---|
| Mashgin 2026 survey, 2,500 U.S. convenience store shoppers | 80% prefer Mashgin over traditional checkout |
| Mashgin higher education data | 90% of students prefer Mashgin |
| Mashgin June 2025 survey, 553 NCAA fans | 83% had a positive experience with Mashgin |
| Independent survey by Adelaide Oval (stadium, Australia) | 71% of Mashgin users preferred it to any other checkout |
| Mashgin Ski ROI Study, guest survey | 85% would choose Mashgin over traditional checkout |
Does Mashgin harm customer experience?#
No. Measured customer experience improves. In Mashgin's 2026 exit survey of 136 shoppers across 6 convenience stores:
| Stores with high Mashgin use | Stores without Mashgin or with low use | |
|---|---|---|
| Rated experience good or better | 97% | 87% |
| Rated experience poor | 3% | 13% |
| Rated store clean or very clean | 77% | 58% |
Mashgin's Power Counter keeps the face-to-face checkout customers are used to while cutting ring-up time to about 0.5 seconds. Freed-up staff time also goes into cleaning, stocking, and hot food.
Will I lose customers if I implement AI checkout?#
Not with the right kind. Traditional scan-it-yourself checkout can push away shoppers who don't want to do the cashier's job. Mashgin keeps a cashier present and removes manual scanning, and 73% of convenience store shoppers say a fast, easy checkout makes them more likely to return. Nearly all stores that adopt Mashgin also keep at least one traditional register for shoppers who prefer it.
How can I implement self-checkout without losing sales?#
Pick a system that removes work for shoppers instead of adding it, and that handles every transaction type. Traditional self-checkouts often can't handle age-restricted items, prepaid fuel, or made-to-order food, so many shoppers avoid them. AI checkout like Mashgin identifies everything automatically and keeps staff nearby to help, which shortens lines. That matters because in Mashgin's shopper survey, half of shoppers said they would leave without buying when 4 people are waiting in line (see line length data).