Big changes are happening at Walmart as the retail giant rethinks its approach to self-checkout. The company is currently in the process of eliminating self-service lanes at a store in Missouri.
This move at the Walmart store in Shrewsbury, a suburb of St. Louis, comes on the heels of recent decisions by other retailers. Target, for example, announced that only customers purchasing 10 items or less could use the self-checkout lane at its stores. Similarly, Dollar General has scaled back self-checkout at thousands of its locations, completely removing the option at 300 stores that were most affected by shoplifting.
While retailers are pulling back on self-checkout options, they are not completely abandoning the concept. According to Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, companies are reevaluating the role of self-checkout in the future. "It's not going to be the same free-for-all it once was," he explained to CBS MoneyWatch. "There is a lot more caution now."
Customer feedback was cited as one of the reasons behind Walmart's decision to remove self-checkout kiosks at its Shrewsbury location.
"In an effort to enhance the shopping experience at our 7437 Watson Road store in Shrewsbury, MO., we have decided to transition from self-checkout lanes to traditional checkout lanes," a representative from the store informed CBS MoneyWatch via email. "This change aims to provide customers with a more personalized and efficient service from our associates."
The popularity of self-checkout surged during the pandemic, offering a way for customers to minimize contact and assisting in addressing the challenges of staffing registers during a labor shortage.
However, with the easing of the pandemic, many shoppers have reverted to traditional checkout methods, finding the convenience of self-checkout less appealing.
"It's a technology that evokes mixed feelings. Some customers view it as a decline in service quality, having to take on more tasks themselves. This doesn't necessarily foster customer loyalty," observed Saunders.
Nevertheless, the increase in theft, a component of what retailers refer to as "shrink," is the primary factor leading to the elimination of self-checkout in certain stores and the imposition of restrictions in others, as per Saunders' insights.
"Self-checkout areas in stores are vulnerable to theft," highlighted the analyst, pointing out that customers also often make unintentional errors, such as failing to scan items correctly. "Retailers are actively working to minimize these incidents, with some, like Target, imposing stricter regulations on self-checkout to mitigate the associated losses."
Costco made a strategic move in November by increasing the number of employees in self-checkout areas. This decision came after discovering that individuals who were not members were illicitly using membership cards at self-checkout counters. Costco reported a rise in shrinkage in 2023, attributing it partially to the implementation of self-checkout technology.
Another tactic to combat this issue is the installation of a receipt-scanning gate at self-checkout stations, a measure that Safeway has already adopted at several locations in California. Additionally, Safeway has opted to completely eliminate self-checkout in certain stores to address the problem.
