日本超市推出“超慢收银台” 销售额意外提升10%

在效率至上的现代社会，在超市结账也变成了一件让人焦虑的事，尤其对于老年人和行动不便的人来说。于是日本一家超市推出了“超慢收银台”，在这里顾客可以安心地数钱找零，绝不会被催促，结果这个收银台大受欢迎，该超市的销售额因此增长了10%。

A Japanese supermarket that implemented an extra-slow checkout where customers are never rushed recently reported a ten percent increase in sales.
日本一家超市推出了超慢结账服务，顾客在这种收银台结账永远不会有被催促的感觉，据称该超市最近销售额增长了10%。

Most supermarkets these days are constantly looking for ways to speed up the checkout process, and for good reason – with time being such a valuable commodity, many customers feel pressured by their peers to pack their groceries and pay as quickly as possible, so as not to hold up the line too long. Unfortunately, some people just can’t be that fast, either because of their age, various disabilities, or even being pregnant. Some of these individuals are often left feeling guilty about moving too slowly, so much so that they avoid going to the supermarket altogether. However, one supermarket in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture seems to have solved the problem with an extra-slow checkout register where people can spend upwards of 20 minutes without feeling pressured in any way.
现在大多数超市都在不断寻找加快结账速度的方法，这是有充分理由的——因为时间也是一种宝贵的商品。因此许多顾客在其他顾客催促的目光下被迫尽快打包自己选购的食品杂货并付款，以免让队伍长时间停滞不前。不幸的是，有些人就是不能那么快，或是因为年龄，或是因为身患残疾，或是因为怀孕。这些个体中的一些人经常为动作太慢而感到内疚，以至于干脆就不去超市。然而，日本福冈县的一家超市似乎用一个超慢结账柜台就解决了这个问题，在这里人们即使结账耗时超过20分钟，也不会感受到任何压力。

You’ve probably encountered issues at a supermarket checkout at least once in your life and had to endure the scowling stares of the people waiting their turn in line, even though you hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Or maybe you were the person scowling in line. Anyway, this is a known issue, one that few supermarkets have actually bothered to even consider. But there are exceptions.
你在生活中应该至少遇到过一次因为超市结账问题，不得不忍受排队等待的人不耐烦的目光，即使你实际上并没有做错什么。或者你可能是在队伍中皱眉头的那个人。无论如何，这是一个众所周知的问题，一个很少有超市真正去考虑的问题。但总有例外。

Asahi TV’s program Shuzo Matsuoka’s ‘Everyone Is Sunny’ recently featured a supermarket in Fukuoka Prefecture where an extra-slow checkout originally designed for the elderly, disabled, and pregnant women seems to have become very popular with shoppers who have feeling rushed. The experimental register has become so popular that the supermarket credits its implementation for a 10 percent increase in sales.
松冈修造担任主播的朝日电视台节目《每个人都很阳光》最近报道了福冈县的一家超市，那里有一个超慢结账柜台，原本是为老年人、残疾人和孕妇专门设置的，结果似乎很受那些不愿被催促的顾客的欢迎。这个试验性结账柜台的成功甚至让这家超市的销售额增长了10%。

The extra-slow checkout was proposed by Ms. Abe Nana from the Alzheimer’s Disease Support Center in Fukuoka Prefecture who knew how frustrated and embarrassed elderly shoppers were with being rushed in line. She also knew that they couldn’t help it, so she proposed a tailor-made solution for them – a checkout where shoppers could count their money in peace, bag groceries at their own pace, and even chat with the cashier if they wanted to.
超慢结账是由福冈县阿尔茨海默病支持中心的安倍奈奈（音译）女士提议的，她了解老年顾客在排队时被催促的那种沮丧和尴尬的心情。她也知道他们无法加快自己的速度，所以她为这一人群提出了一个量身定制的解决方案——一个特别的结账柜台，顾客可以在这里安心数钱，按自己的节奏打包食品杂货，如果他们愿意的话，甚至还可以和收银员聊天。

At the extra-slow checkout, there is no pressure. Shoppers can spend upwards of 20 minutes at the register, counting their change in peace, trading in products they no longer want or asking for information about promotions, payment options, or whatever else. The cashier never rushes customers, instead smiling at them and engaging in friendly banter.
在超慢结账柜台，顾客没有压力。顾客可以在柜台花费超过20分钟，安心数钱找零，退换他们不想要的产品，或者询问有关促销、支付方式或其他任何信息。收银员从不催促顾客，而是对他们微笑，并和他们友好地闲聊。

The special checkout has made quite an impact on the supermarket’s bottom line. Some customers shop here on a regular basis now because they are no longer forced to experience the anxiety of having to be fast to not hold back the line, and sales have increased by about 10 percent. It’s unclear if the company plans to implement the extra-slow checkout at other venues, but online reactions to the show suggest that there is definitely a demand for it.
这个特别结账柜台对超市的经营状况产生了相当大的影响。一些顾客现在定期在这里购物，因为他们不必再为了不让队伍停滞而被迫加快速度，也不会再为此感到焦虑，从而让超市的销售额增长了约10%。目前尚不清楚该公司是否计划在其他超市也推出超慢结账柜台，但是从节目收到的线上反馈来看，这种需求是绝对存在的。

"It would be great if there were supermarkets like this near me,” one person commented.
有人评论道：“如果我家附近有这样的超市就好了。”

"When we pursue efficiency at all costs, we forget the most important things,” someone else wrote.
还有人写道：“当我们不惜一切代价追求效率时，我们忘记了最重要的事情。”