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Walmart eliminates self-checkout at three N.M. locations

Several Walmart shoppers and workers say they believe self-checkout leads to an increase in theft

Bill Wilson, Senior editor at Supermarket News

October 3, 2023

1 Min Read
Walmart AI.jpg
Several Walmart shoppers and employees told Business Insider that they feel self-checkout leads to an increase in theft.Walmart

Walmart will have more eyes on transactions at three locations in New Mexico where self-checkout lanes are being removed, reports Business Insider.

Two of the stores located in Albuquerque were recently renovated to remove the self-checkout lanes, and a third store will be reconfigured later this month.

Walmart said it did not have plans to remove self-checkout lanes beyond the stores in New Mexico, but the retailer has said it generally wants to move towards a self-checkout process where workers have more touchpoints with product

Several Walmart shoppers and employees told Business Insider that they feel self-checkout leads to an increase in theft. When a Walmart location in Albuquerque closed recently, shoppers told Insider the store had been a  target for shoplifters.

Walmart had not responded to a request for comment for this story at the time of publication.

When it comes to self-checkout, a Kroger store in Tennessee is taking a different approach entirely:. The Franklin location only has self-checkout lanes. Additionally, Kroger said there are plans to make another Tennessee store 100% self-checkout, and the retailer will possibly expand to more locations later this year.

When Supermarket News polled its readers on the idea of all self-checkout lanes, 73% said the move did not represent the future in grocery shopping.

Related:Walmart plans to streamline corporate job titles, changes pay

 

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About the Author

Bill Wilson

Senior editor at Supermarket News

Bill Wilson is the senior editor at Supermarket News, covering all things grocery and retail. He has been a journalist in the B2B industry for 25 years. He has received two Robert F. Boger awards for his work as a journalist in the infrastructure industry and has over 25 editorial awards total in his career. He graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a major in broadcast communications.

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