[MN-at-Large] NFB of Minnesota in the news with Target's new self-checkout

[dandrews920 at comcast.net]

The Minnesota Star Tribune posted this article yesterday afternoon that includes a quote from the NFB of Minnesota!

 

Target leads industry in launching self-checkouts for visually impaired shoppers <mailto:https://www.startribune.com/target-launches-new-self-checkouts-for-visually-impaired-shoppers/601481543> 

The Minneapolis-based retailer designed the technology with input from the blind community.

By Carson Hartzog

 

Photo caption: Anita Brands shopped the Target Midway store for a Shipt client.

 

Target is rolling out what it calls the “first-of-its-kind” accessible self-checkout kiosks, designed in collaboration with the blind community. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

 

Target is rolling out new self-checkout kiosks designed for blind and low-vision shoppers — and the retailer isn’t keeping the technology to itself.

 

The Minneapolis-based company says the “first-of-its-kind” stations are now in 200 stores and will expand to all locations by early 2026. Target has chosen not to patent the tactile controller it co-developed with Elo, which manufactures touchscreens for retailers and other companies.

 

The retailer had the fifth most patents of Minnesota-based companies in 2024.

 

Target worked with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) during the machines’ development, design and testing. Their feedback, along with other blind community members, “directly shaped the technology,” according to a news release.

 

The features, such as high-contrast button icons, a headphone jack with adjustable volume control and physical navigation buttons, are common among devices designed for people who are blind or have low vision. But the touchscreen has streamlined use of the functions to better meet the needs of the blind and low-vision community.

 

The technology will be added to existing kiosks, and all self-checkout stations will be accessible, a Target spokeswoman confirmed.

 

Advocates said the move could be a turning point for shoppers who have been excluded from the self-checkout experience — especially now that it’s available as non-patented technology.

 

“As a blind person myself, I’ve seen for years that we’ve been reducing the number of human cashiers in favor of self-checkout experiences, and not a single one of those until now has been usable by me,” said Corbb O’Connor, president of the NFB of Minnesota.

 

O’Connor said he often had to wait 10 to 15 minutes in full-service lanes, even with just a few items, while shoppers with access to self-checkout could move more quickly.

 

Self-checkout has lagged behind other accessibility initiatives, O’Connor said, partly because there aren’t many legal guidelines around applying digital accessibility to physical experiences in the store.

 

“I look at this as a real opportunity for the other retailers” since the device is not patented, O’Connor said. Retailers “no longer can say, ‘Well, we don’t know how to do it. Or our vendor doesn’t know how to do it. ... The technology is now there.”

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