Once proliferating, cost-cutting self-checkout counters deployed by many big-box retailers are now reportedly disappearing at a rapid pace.
CNN Business reports that Dollar General, which previously had aggressively expanded self-checkout stations, is joining other big-box retailers reversing the self-checkout counters. “We had started to rely too much this year on self-checkout in our stores. We should be using self-checkout as a secondary checkout vehicle, not a primary,” Todd Vasos, Dollar General CEO told CNN.
The stored had cut-down store staffs and improve the sales, but instead it reportedly increased merchandise losses due to shrink, shoplifting, employee theft, damaged products and others. “It helps on the sales line because we’ve got somebody to meet, greet and ring up the customer. It also helps on the shrink line because (we’ve) got somebody at the front end of the store that is always there to monitor the area,” Vasos added to CNN.
Quoting one study, CNN reports “retailers in the United States, Britain and other European countries found that companies with self-checkout lanes and apps had a loss rate of about 4%, more than double the industry average”.
“Booths, a British supermarket chain, said it’s removing self-checkout stations in all but two of its 28 stores. Walmart removed self-checkout machines at some stores in New Mexico earlier this year. ShopRite pulled them at a Delaware store after customer complaints.”
According to CNN, Costco is adding additional staff around check-out areas as it found that non-members were using the area using other members card.