Self-checkout Entertainment
Here is another idea for rushing self-checkout industry (hey, IBM, NCR, Fujitsu guys! 
)
Some of you might already had a good or bad experience with self-checkout systems in different store chains. They all do pretty the same, and there are still doubts if they have that high ROI or not… But sooner or later they will be in almost every retail store chain.
If you look at their design, you won’t find that much difference between them in terms of casing: a touchscreen, scanner, scales, MCR devices, voice assistance. If the software application is well designed and works nice on that system with no hardware issues, you might succeed even in your first attempt to purchase something via this automated cashier. If not - you’ll start hating it till the end of your life 
Here is the idea: make these systems looking more vivant, attracting. The casing can be designed to have changeable skin plates, decoration elements, blinking/running lights, etc., say, on Halloween attach appropriate color plates with funny decoration. They should be fixed with at least one screw to be protected from curious customers. The software inside should have theme skins too, changeable accordingly to the season, holiday, etc., as well as the voice. Depending on configuration the voice messages can be not always serious. Give people some jokes, let ‘em relax and trust the system and they’ll like it!
Yes, this requires more efforts and might increase the cost of the system, but all these changes can attract much more people attention and love than they have now. Make it friendly, funny and entertaining - that’s what people like the most.
The first place which I see for such a system with funny look and changeable skins/themes is… toys retail stores! Parents come with kids there always! They definitely need more fun during the shopping and especially at the checkout point. 
- On Christmas let them have snowy look with icy buttons on the screen. And maybe some music on the background or at the end of the purchase. The voice must be like Santa Claus asking to swipe a card..
- Hallowing season - black and orange colors, scaring voices, spider net in some corners on the screen
- etc. - just ask creative artist to create you a theme both for hardware skins and software skins and voices…
What do you think?!