Miami, Fl.  May 29, 2002  With 2001 unit shipments up 162%, the Retail Self-Checkout Market is poised to surpass $1 Billion in annual revenue (shipments and installed hardware/software maintenance) by 2003 according to a new study from IHL Consulting Group.

"Self-Checkout reached critical mass in 2001 with Kroger and Kmart installing several thousand units each," said Greg Buzek, President of IHL Consulting Group. "Twenty-five percent (25%) of grocery retailers now have Self-Checkout installed. And anyone who has been to a retail technology trade show recently know that there have been two shows. The one for Self-Checkout that has been very well attended, and the one for all other technologies that seemed to be slow."

According to the study, unit shipments in North America increased 142% in 2001 with NCR Corporation, Optimal Robotics Corporation, and Productivity Solutions Inc. leading the way.

"In 2001, two very large customers represented the majority of shipments to the market," added Buzek. "We believe that 2002 will provide a much broader customer base and more sustained increases in shipments across multiple retailers. Self-Checkout has hit the mainstream, consumers are accepting it and grocery retailers are demonstrating that as high as 25% of their transaction volume is now going through their Self-Checkout systems. Great opportunities exist in the grocery sector as well as other segments such as mass merchants, supercenters/warehouse clubs, drug stores, and category killers in 2002."

IHL's report, Retail Self-Checkout Systems in North America reviews the leading Self-Checkout vendors, their market share for shipments and installed base, their major models and key customers. Along the way we discuss the market potential in revenue for these systems as well as barriers to entry for each retail segment.

The report discusses what works and what doesn't and adds recommendations for how today's machines from Optimal Robotics, NCR, Productivity Solutions, PSC/Kyrus and Symbol Technologies will need to change to penetrate other retail segments. Finally, this report discusses the various trends affecting this technology as well as a 4-year forecast for Self-Checkout moving forward.

For further information and a free study synopsis, please visit the company website at www.ihlservices.com.

ABOUT IHL CONSULTING GROUP
IHL Consulting Group is an independent business-consulting firm headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee that provides market analysis and business planning services for information technology companies that focus on the retail industry. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.ihlservices.com.

CONTACT: IHL Consulting Group
Tracie Negrotto, 615/599-3702