Supermarkets losing £486m per year at self-checkouts

New research has revealed that Britain's supermarkets are losing millions of pounds a year thanks to self service checkouts.

According to the research from Vouchercloud, shoppers tend to ditch as many as three items from the shopping bag when they get to paying.

It's thought that the shops are losing an average of £40,503,277.62 per month in abandoned sales.

But why are people lightening their load when they get to the checkout?

Here are some of the reasons given for abandoning purchases at checkout:

1. The queues were too long/too slow and I didn't want to wait – 64%

2. I couldn't get assistance from staff - 62%

3. It wouldn't scan on the system and I got frustrated - 55%

4. I decided I no longer needed the item - 49%

5. The item didn't fit into my carrier bag(s) - 23%

Although an average of three items a month may not sound like a lot, the average cost per Brit totals £2.34 a month - which equates to a staggering £40,503,277.62 each month and £486,039,331.44 per year in abandoned purchases and supermarket lost sales.

As many as 38% of those polled said they wouldn't ever use self-scan checkouts again.

This isn't just affecting the shopping experience, it's having a major impact on how much money is being made by the supermarkets.