The Washington Standard
Theft and complaints are taking a toll on self-checkout. Now, Walmart (WMT) wants you to pay $98 a year for Walmart+ for the self-checkout privilege at some stores.
Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts
The Wall Street Journal reports Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts to Curb Irritation and Theft
Attention, shoppers: Retailers are rethinking your cashier job.
Store operators are modifying how they use self-checkout stations in a bid to boost their bottom lines and improve the shopping experience for customers.
Some retailers are pulling kiosks out of stores as a way to keep a lid on theft. Others, including Target (TGT), Dollar General (DG) and the regional grocery chain Schnucks, have limited how many items customers can bring to self-checkouts to avoid bottlenecks and alleviate headaches for staff.
Schnucks now limits its self-checkout lanes to 10 items or fewer. While the primary intention is to improve customer service and checkout efficiency, Simon said the company expects some reduction of theft as well. “This item limit will help us maintain our costs while keeping the prices lower for our customers,” he said.
About a fifth of people who used self-checkouts said they accidentally took an item without paying for it, according to a survey of 2,000 shoppers last year by LendingTree. Some 15% of self-checkout users admitted to stealing an item on purpose.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, said it removed self-checkout lanes and replaced them with cashier-staffed lanes at locations including stores in Cleveland and Shrewsbury, Mo. When checkout access is limited, some stores are designating self-checkout lanes for Walmart+ customers, who pay a membership fee of $98 a year…
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