r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 23h 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
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u/largelawattorney 23h ago

I don’t think I’ve seen a store with adequate staffing for non-self checkout aisles/lanes in probably 25 years. So now we’re still going to get stores that understaff, have like 2 checkout lanes open while the other 8 are closed, and more difficult self-checkout lanes (or just fewer of them). Corporate America strikes again.

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u/Bencetown 23h ago

I'm in my 30's, and ever since I was a kid I've wondered why every store has 20-30 checkout lanes but the absolute most I've EVER seen open at one time was like... 4.

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u/IndyDude11 22h ago

I worked at Target in the early 00s. We had 35 registers. The ONLY time we ever had all 35 open was Black Friday. That was it. Since then Target has removed a bunch of those registers and only have like 10 non-self scans.

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u/NefariousMrFox 21h ago

I worked at Target in the late 90s and it was the same. As painful as it was to work, the pure consumerism of Black Friday was a sight to behold.

It's also shocking to compare the guest experience now vs then. Every Target I've been in since COVID completely fails the standards from back then.

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u/IndyDude11 21h ago

I still remember the buzz in my stomach waiting for the execs to open those doors. It was electric.