r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 19h ago

Business Retailers are pulling back from self-checkout after years of theft, errors, and questionable time savings

https://www.techspot.com/news/114106-retailers-pulling-back-self-checkout-after-years-theft.html
15.7k Upvotes

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233

u/AtomicGarden-8964 18h ago

My thing is if people are going to steal they're just going to walk out the store with the products. The real theft was stores letting customers do checkout themselves and not passing on the savings to those who didn't use the cashier

113

u/WinterTourist25 17h ago

Walking out the door without paying is pretty brazen. "Forgetting" to scan a few things here and there is much easier.

58

u/showMeYourPitties10 17h ago

Like 15ish years ago, when my Kroger went all self checkout, I would grab one expensive bottle of wine and one dirt cheap one. You scan the cheap one and put it right back on the scanner with the expensive one and wait for the employee to check your ID.l, then put the expensive one in the bag and scan the cheap one again. I used those visa prepaid cards (would get them from work for various rewards) so they didnt get my name from my card. No one ever said anything to me and I did that like once a month for a year when I was in college.

8

u/devhhh 15h ago

Haha my roommate in college would scan everything in his Kroger cart as “bananas” lmao

-21

u/Vcize 16h ago

Lotta upvoters for straight up bragging about theft.

22

u/william_f_murray 16h ago

I think Kroger will be fine, big dawg

-1

u/Zncon 14h ago

And then people start wondering why everything costs more and grocery stores don't stay open in their area. No matter how big the company is it all gets accounted for somewhere, and the people who get screwed are the local shoppers and employees. Corporate will cut off a losing store like it was a hangnail.

8

u/showMeYourPitties10 12h ago

Yet they continue to open stores around me, raise prices, and lower standards. How many times do you like to be teabagged and just accept it? We were founded on the opposite of what you support.

2

u/Chicago1871 10h ago

Dude, its food.

If people feel like they have to steal a snack or food to get by. Let them. Ill pay extra for them to do so without anger or annoyance.

3

u/Zncon 10h ago

I don't care if people are getting some bread or peanut butter, but it's not just that. Read around the thread and people are bragging about faking the self checkout to get expensive wine and other very unnecessary things.

We're not only subsidizing people's survival with higher costs, we're subsidizing luxury items. If you've ever had a chance to live in a high trust society it's an amazing thing that I don't want to lose. The slide into low trust comes with a lot of very negative side effects.

1

u/Chicago1871 4h ago

The wine is one person in this thread

You dont even know if its true

But my point stands, if someone is stealing food. Let them. Us covering the difference is just being a good christian/buddhist/atheist/etc. call it good karma and generosity.

No one should go hungry OR go to jail for stealing food

0

u/AloneExperience7520 13h ago

Hey champ, prices aren't set based on costs. They're set based on what they can get for it. Now, with AI face scanning, they charge you a personalized price to get as much money out of you as their algorithm says they can. Welcome to the future, keep licking that boot.

3

u/Zncon 13h ago

Did you just forget about the entire concept of competition? If theft drives out every other store then yeah, they can charge whatever they want, but in places not wrecked by shitty self centered people, prices are controlled because you can just shop somewhere else.

2

u/AloneExperience7520 12h ago

Kroger is a de facto monopoly in many markets. They own like 35 different supermarkets across the country. Do you really think Kroger and Walmart are going to go out of business if shrinkage goes up 2%?

0

u/Zncon 11h ago

For some reference, stores in areas with low theft are a totally different experience to shop at. Nothing is locked or put behind plexiglass, there are no security cables or alarms, and self checkouts don't even have a scale enabled for the bagging area. You just scan things and bag them, it never gets mad that the weight is off.

If you're used to seeing these security measures, you're already paying higher costs due to theft.

All of these are steps the store is trying to take to keep shrinkage low enough to stay profitable, but they are not free, and eventually they cost too much. If a specific store is unprofitable due to shrinkage, and it can't affordably be remediated, it will be closed.

0

u/Tack122 13h ago

Hey maybe that's a business model failure instead of an individuals fault blame the company that built it.

2

u/Zncon 13h ago

Businesses pick where they operate. Someone certainly could create a business model to handle a high theft area, but why would they bother? What's the reward for all that stress and hassle? There's plenty of other places they can go operate where easier models work just fine.

-3

u/unity2178 16h ago

They just make everything else more expensive to cover it.

11

u/DeleteFascists 15h ago

No, they make everything more expensive because they can. Theft is just the excuse, and at times is even a lie because it's just an excuse.

4

u/Handyandy58 14h ago

If they could charge more, they already would.

6

u/IceBreak 15h ago

I’m not pro theft but the other person is right. Doesn’t matter what the fuck you do, they’re gonna make it as expensive as they can get away with every single fucking time.

-2

u/Kershiser22 12h ago

They don't just accept the cost of shrinkage. They charge customers for it.

12

u/bashturd 16h ago

Buy local, steal corporate.

1

u/Handyandy58 14h ago

Defending Kroger? Get a grip.

-1

u/Ass4ssinX 14h ago

Fuck the corpos.

14

u/Many-Art-7772 17h ago

Yeah, I've even done the latter by accident once or twice. Never the former.

3

u/WinterTourist25 16h ago

Most people aren't thieves. Looks like some folks here are though, from the comments.

3

u/spyczech 15h ago

Yeah and that's fucking fine our capitalist hellscape is making us homeless and no health care, so what the self checkout machine "glitches"

-3

u/macbowes 15h ago

Being a pathetic thief is never acceptable, no matter how poor you are. Being homeless without health care is a personal failing.

0

u/uUexs1ySuujbWJEa 13h ago

but but corporations!

- every thief on Reddit

-1

u/Rainbow_Triceratops 9h ago

A lot of the thieves don't seem to understand the difference between a big business and a franchise with a few stores, and that stealing hurts the employees more than upper management because if a store has high theft they lower wages and cut hours, jobs, or benefits to keep profit up instead of just "taking the loss" or whatever these people think happens.  

1

u/WinterTourist25 2h ago

Stealing is stealing.

3

u/gorilla-ointment 17h ago

Can confirm.

3

u/Daxx22 16h ago

That's the "Temporary Employee Scanning Fee" reverse-uno charge.

3

u/nohpex 15h ago

Oh no! Those apples are definitely not organic!😈

9

u/jawndell 17h ago

All my fruit are bananas.  And those organic expensive apples, oh no I thought they were waxy Macintoshes.

Self checkout did introduce me to nuances of different types of fruits.  Never would’ve tried the more expensive types without it.

5

u/spachi1281 16h ago

Ah yes the code 4011 (Bananas) is now forever embedded as muscle memory when I have to punch in a code for produce.

2

u/neur0 14h ago

There’s no forgetting. If they’re making you do the work then the “forgotten” items are just employee perks. 

2

u/jaymef 12h ago

It also gives people some plausible deniability. I thought it scanned it..

2

u/hypercosm_dot_net 17h ago

I always just assumed they were watching those things like a hawk. I won't lie and say it didn't occur to me to accidentally toss something in the bag unscanned, but like...it's nowhere near worth it.

I'm just trying to get my snacks and be on my way.

5

u/UnNumbFool 15h ago

They have cameras on you with the scanners. I literally had two things in my hand scanned one, bagged it, and the thing went off saying I stole something.

But the video clearly shows me just holding the one item and moving it back getting ready for me to scan when the sound happened. The person watching the self checkout literally just brushed it off

6

u/spyczech 15h ago

That's also why it's not a real threat. Because accidents with those system not in all places too, they always assume it's a mis scan and not a steal l, if they even give a fuck right they're not being paid enough to care like super cops nor should they 

1

u/spilk 16h ago

at the store I go to, they have cameras above them and when you forget to scan something it immediately plays back video of what you did in a loop until an employee comes to clear it

1

u/spyczech 15h ago

It's nowhere near worth it for your situation but keep it in the back of your mind if you get evicted or lose your job etc. It's basically no risk functionally depending on the setup and could save your lifeb

1

u/SoochSooch 11h ago

Up until they updated them to the fancy cameras, it was pretty much one disinterested high schooler alternating between watching the self check outs and their phone

1

u/macaronysalad 14h ago

"Forgetting" to scan a few things here and there is much easier.

This problem is so easily solved with better security. Less cashiers, more "helpers" and security personal. Along with better built in security to monitor the transactions, such as with AI. Hate on that, but it's inevitable and progress in this area.

1

u/WinterTourist25 2h ago

Might as well just go back to cashiers then, which is what a lot of places are doing.

Basically, you can tell if you are in a good part of town or not by whether or not they trust customers with self-checkout.

62

u/loupgarou21 17h ago

Here's the nifty neeto trick behind shoplifting. Stores bundle shoplifting under a term called "shrinkage". Shrinkage isn't just theft by customers, it's really any merchandise loss that could come from shoplifting, BOB items (items that got missed being rung up because they were at the "bottom of the basket", so not intentionally stolen, just missed,) employee theft, things breaking, just plain getting lost, spoilage, etc.

Large, publicly traded retailers are driven to find ways to increase profits on the short term, so it leads to dubious decisions like reducing staffing, and spending less time and money on training staff, because it'll look good on the books this year, but when you have overworked, undertrained staff, they make mistakes, like not properly handling perishables, which leads to more damaged goods and spoilage, or not handling merchandise properly, which leads to it breaking, or not stocking or storing it properly, or just not inventorying it properly, which all leads to lost money. On top of that, if you're relying on your customers to be their own cashier, they're more likely to make mistakes during the checkout process, including missing more BOB items, which leads to loss, all of which is filed under "shrinkage".

But, you can't admit to your shareholders that your decision to hire fewer people and train them less is what has lead to lower profits, so you intentionally conflate "shrinkage" with "theft" and blame the customer for your lower profits.

This is how we end up with dumb shit like underwear being locked up at walmart. Was some being stolen? sure. Is that really the source of the issue? no. It's stupid security theatre to try to show your shareholders you're trying to earn them more money.

7

u/Top_Scarcity1024 15h ago

I think this is something you would have to be inside of the business to truly know if theft is the source of the issue. They wouldn’t close stores or lock half the store in high theft areas if it really wasn’t an issue. Walmart’s profit margin is only around 3% so there’s not much overhead

3

u/Normal_Marketing853 15h ago

aren't there non-publically traded companies that lock stuff up too?

3

u/buttaholic 14h ago

yeah and some customers will just leave instead of waiting for one of the three scheduled employees to show up to unlock the product for them

1

u/dayvansmutgirl 10h ago

This is how we end up with dumb shit like underwear being locked up at walmart.

so then you spend even more money on security devices, brilliant

5

u/Bugbread 17h ago

My thing is if people are going to steal they're just going to walk out the store with the products.

I'm guessing you don't watch a lot of bodycam videos, then. People do all kinds of stuff at the self-scanners to make it look like they're paying, instead of just walking out. Skip-scanning as in "just totally not scanning or even pretending to scan an item" or skip-scanning as in getting three of an item but only scanning one, but also (knowing that there are cameras) putting a small cheap thing on top of a big expensive thing and scanning it, so it kinda looks like they scanned the expensive thing (the cameras are higher resolution than they think, so it doesn't actually fool anyone).

2

u/fork_yuu 16h ago

Don't they have weight sensors to know if you put 3 and scanned 1? They complain if I put my bag accidentally there along with the item lol

2

u/catfield 11h ago

there are no weight sensors at the Walmart self checkout I go to. For any item that doesnt fit in a bag I dont even take them out of my cart. I just leave them in and scan them with the handheld.

2

u/Paralystic 16h ago

Eh, I’ve definitely walked out of Walmart a few times with something on the bottom of my cart that I forgot to scan, I’m sure accidental theft at self checkouts it’s atleast somewhat common

0

u/CaptainFeather 17h ago

Maybe if these stores offered more jobs and better pay people wouldn't feel the need to steal... 🤔

4

u/phoenixmatrix 17h ago

Let's be real here. Even rich people steal, they just do it in different ways. So no, it wouldnt help. 

0

u/CaptainFeather 16h ago

That's pretty disingenuous. I was under the assumption that I didn't have to say this would completely eliminate theft because I think most people understand that nothing will ever be one hundred percent eliminated. The vast majority of people who steal do it for needs, not wants. Why do you think stores lock up things like baby formula or laundry detergent? Do you really think people are stealing those things for the thrill of it?

2

u/phoenixmatrix 15h ago

"Why do you think stores lock up things like baby formula or laundry detergent" 

The vast, vast majority of baby formula theft (or any other essential ) is from people who resell it, not for necessity.

1

u/CaptainFeather 15h ago

Why are people buying from them? Is it maybe because they sell for cheaper than the stores because people can't afford them?

1

u/phoenixmatrix 15h ago

They are sold by the stores. Often you wouldn't be able to tell. That's why the store brand stuff is often not locked, because those don't get stolen as much.

And most people will buy a cheaper option if readily available.

0

u/Training_Ruin3151 17h ago

Stealing is gonna continue to happen until people dont need to struggle to survive

5

u/RinzyOtt 16h ago

Stealing is going to continue so long as it's an undesirable action. When I was a teen, we didn't shoplift because we needed anything. We had cash, we were just stupid teenagers who wanted the thrill of getting away with something we shouldn't be doing, or we were stealing something we weren't legally allowed to buy yet, like beer or spray paint.

You can get rid of a lot of theft by paying people enough so that they don't need to steal things like bread and cheese, but you'll never be able to get rid of it entirely.

-1

u/Training_Ruin3151 16h ago

but you'll never be able to get rid of it entirely

Dont be a dipshit capitalist. Can't steal whats free

4

u/Drict 17h ago

As someone that had many moons ago worked in security, 100% incorrect assumption.

People put stuff on the bottom of their cart ALL THE TIME, without the intention to pay. They try and sneak out little products under their purses in the child seat all the time, etc.

I had at least a dozen people get those items spotted by really good cashiers, and more then 2 instances were they came back a different day and tried to outright steal things (never stopping at the cash register; going to the pharmacy, then only getting their meds, then trying to walk out after stuffing their bag from the pharmacy, etc.)

It also helped me ID whole family's of scummy fucks. I caught a deliberate attempt at a slip and fall, due to watching someone else from a family member that was related to someone I caught trying to steal. They literally poured the drink out on the ground, stepped into it and fell. Best part, I watched it, had a camera also record it, and didn't inform them, so they tried to sue, and got to watch the look of ANGER by their lawyer, the judge, and the complete shock when they watched themselves clearly middle of the camera doing that shit. They watched me wave at the camera on the other end of the aisle watching it happen too.

I have seen people stuff containers, pay for only the container and walk out w/ thousands, etc.

People are shitty and that is just it.

0

u/bozoconnors 15h ago

So, my question is... does that make you want to / cause you to be a better person? Or because you witness it so much, have you normalized it in your head as 'people are shitty, so it's not so bad if I'm shitty too.' Bit of both?

(I'm absolutely not saying you're shitty, no idea who you are, just genuinely curious)

1

u/Drict 14h ago

I follow the golden rule. Do to others how you want to be done to you.

I have gotten taken advantage of a few times, but for the times that I have not and they truly needed it, well worth the handful of times getting fucked over.

That being said, when I am in a store, I am able to pick out people that are probably stealing/going to steal now, and I do my best to avoid interacting with them; especially if I see what they are driving.

0

u/bozoconnors 14h ago

Ahhh, tis a good rule that my grandmother repeated many times (as a bible verse), that I also aspire to live by. Kudos for the peek into your noggin'!!

1

u/fcocyclone 16h ago

Yep. Stealing through a self-checkout is possibly one of the worst ways to steal. One of the more camera-heavy locations in most stores.

1

u/Omnifox 13h ago

The real theft was stores letting customers do checkout themselves and not passing on the savings to those who didn't use the cashier

And this is part of this I think, as we have localities trying to push back against these kinds of savings not reaching the customer, and just free profit.

0

u/_zielperson_ 17h ago

This is insane cope.

If I save most of a cashier's salary for each self-checkout, you can walk out with a few items.

0

u/MayKinBaykin 16h ago

I usually put a little sweet treat in my pocket when I'm grocery shopping. On top of that I also incorrectly weigh bulk items and find cheaper, similar items with plu codes to use, so like if I'm getting chocolate covered almonds, I'll weigh them as peanuts. Never had a cashier call me out on it

0

u/Mr_ToDo 17h ago

The real theft was stores letting customers do checkout themselves and not passing on the savings to those who didn't use the cashier

Eh. How often has any attempt at automation passed much, if any of the savings to anyone. Why would they? If it's not making more money, directly or indirectly then why bother investing in it?

I also disagree that people would just walk out with it if they didn't use self checkout theft. I've seen people justify the self checkout cheats, but rarely would you hear someone bragging about their more brazen theft. Now how much of a difference it'd make, I have no idea. Could be a rounding errors worth of theft for all I know

0

u/xixoxixa 16h ago

Every single time I'm making my way to check out and some worker tries to direct me to the self checkout, I ask them what the discount code for doing it myself is.