Self-checkout registers aren't going anywhere—neither are their critics

Self-checkout—some people love them, others hate them, but more often, these days, shoppers appear to be mainly ambivalent. Irrespective of public opinion, self-checkout lanes are likely here to stay — at least until something more efficient and less expensive comes along.  

It might come as a surprise that cashier-less checkouts are not just a modern reality that shoppers tolerate; many customers prefer them. A story reported earlier this month in The U.S. Sun highlighted what appeared to be an experiment by a Walmart in Ottowa, Canada, to see what would happen if they discontinued self-checkout lanes.  

The Walmart location posted signs reading: “We are pleased to announce the test of the full-service experience starting Saturday, July 29th. During this test, our associates will be available to scan all items including those being processed in the area known as our self-checkout. We look forward to interacting with you on a more one-on-one basis.”  

Were shoppers excited to interact with a living person on a one-on-one basis? Not so much, according to news reports. 

A CTV News Ottawa story quoted several shoppers who were disappointed with the removal of the self-checkout lanes, with one stating: “Some people just don’t want to have to talk to people.”  

Related:Could a self-checkout tax be coming?

While Walmart could be working to reconnect with its customers on a more personal level, there could be another motive—deterring shoplifting, which is causing mega-retailers like Walmart and Target hundreds of millions of dollars a year.  

In an industry with notoriously slim margins, the losses to grocers from self-checkout machines can be steep. Adrian Beck, a criminology scholar and researcher with ECR Retail Loss Group, noted in a report published in July that retailers stand to lose a basis point for each percentage of sales processed through a cashier-less checkout.  

“This means that if 50% of sales value goes through this type of system, then a retailer could see an additional loss of 0.5% of their retail sales. With some estimates suggesting that unknown losses (shrinkage) for a grocery retailer might be about 1.5% of retail sales per year, this would represent a 30% increase in losses,” Beck explained.  

These kinds of figures don’t appear to be deterring grocers from installing self-checkout registers. An April report by retail analyst VideoMining showed that 2022 marked the first year self-checkout machines became the dominant form of payment at grocery stores at 55%. That same year, self-checkout registers made up 48% of all registers. 

Related:Target struggles with ‘softening sales trends’ during Q1

Some grocers are now looking for solutions to reduce shrink at self-checkout registers, and in some cases eliminating the technology altogether.  

Winsight Grocery Business sister publication Grocery Dive reported in mid-August that Kroger banner Harris Teeter has installed cameras at its cashier-less checkouts at one of its locations in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and other unspecified stores. The machines now alert customers that they failed to scan an item. 

In February, Hy-Vee eliminated its Scan & Go service, which enabled shoppers to scan their groceries as they shopped using a smartphone app. Hy-Vee said they discontinued the technology because of lack of usage, but the move came about six months after Rochester, New York-based Wegmans got rid of its scan-and-go tech due to a high rate of theft.  

Meanwhile, some stores are distinguishing themselves by rejecting the cashier-less technology. Trader Joe’s CEO Bryan Palbaum said in the Aug. 14 edition of the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast that it’s “double false” that the grocer would ever install self-checkout registers because, “It’s not fun.” President/Vice CEO Jon Basalone added that the company has no interest in replacing its employees “because we believe in people and we’re not trying to get rid of our crew members for efficiency sake ...” 

Related:No, Trader Joe’s employees aren’t instructed to flirt with shoppers

This all comes at a time when artificial intelligence threatens the livelihoods of people across the globe. Everybody has an opinion on AI these days, and it's typically not a good one. It comes as little surprise that elected officials would consider taxing self-checkout registers and other technology that threatens jobs.  

I reported earlier this week on a proposal in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, to do just that. Big-box retailers and grocers (anyone employing 250 people or more) would have to shell out $5,000 a pop each year for the machines. While that might be a small price to pay when compared to hiring a full-time cashier, the numbers become tighter when you consider the impact of theft taking place at these registers.