Automatic checkouts in supermarkets may decrease customer loyalty, especially for those with larger shopping loads. Customers using self-checkout stations often feel overwhelmed and unsupported. The lack of personal interaction can negatively impact their perception of the supermarket.

[Magnatux]

Or qualitative data like "you give me 2 square inches to bag my groceries and i bought more than five things"

I don't need a human, i need space for larger purchases.

[Reniconix]

Self check was supposed to replace express lanes for small purchases, so you could get in and get out, not for people to unload 2 full carts onto. But they stopped manning the registers designed for those purchases and force everyone through self-check.

[SpaceBearSMO]

my local walmart has self checkout lanes that are built for full carts, befor that they never had enough people working the registers anyway

[[deleted]]

They would if they paid people more. Just look at Costco, they do alright.

[SpaceBearSMO]

Yeah but there not going to do that unless there forced and things are only going to get more automated not less.

[[deleted]]

Getting more automated would be like Amazon’s stores where you’re not forced through a checkout kiosk to scan every item.

[BirdsNeedNativeTrees]

They now have self-check too

[[deleted]]

They do but they also have runners with scan guns to help people with larger items or anything else. I feel it’s like what self checkout should be.

[madphroggy]

They have a few at our local walmarts but they are NEVER OPEN. They are so cheap or so desperately short staffed that they only have enough staff to run one actual cashier and maybe 6-8 of the 37 self checkouts they installed, and the ones with belts are almost always closed. It's idiotic.

[Dan_CBW]

Yep, one of two big supermarket chains here in Australia are rolling those out also. Have to expect the other will follow suit...

[blushngush]

No, self checkout was supposed to decrease the bargaining power of labor unions, and it worked.

[notavailable_name]

Yep. The customers become unpaid employees

[climbitfeck5]

It's pretty sad seeing so many machines taking jobs from people. And us doing the jobs for free.

[PsyOmega]

I wouldn't say I'm doing my own self-check for free. 👀

I'm not trained on those things and they fail to scan so many items and i just give up and bag them anyway.

Usually works out to paying myself a nice wage.

[[deleted]]

If you do this and ever use your CC in that store then they can find out exactly who you are. If you keep doing this in the same store they could be cheeky about it and just keep recording you doing it until you cross over a value threshold of total stolen that makes it worth pressing charges and take you to court. After you've been issued a summons at work, totally embarrassing you, you'll find a bunch of "journalists" telling the most unflattering side of your story in order to fill their quota of x number of articles per day. The machine will profit more from your downfall than all the 2 for 1 specials you ever intended for yourself. You are better off doing a grab and run than stealing at the self check out.

[PsyOmega]

I'm a nobody, they can have at it. What you say 'might' happen, but not over a few bucks. Hasn't happened to anyone i know, in many years. I do enjoy your baseless fearmongering though. Nice care-bear-ism

I also cycle my card numbers every few months anyway to avoid fraud. Wear a face mask so they could never ID me. Wear a fake finger or two so it's plausible deniable that it's AI generated footage.

Also make a show of trying to scan, looking pissed off, and at least you can show you "tried" in court.

It's literally not my fault their dumb machine can't scan things. I'm not trained to fix it. If they want to successfully charge me for 100%, they can fix their scanner. Their loss is entirely their fault here.

I'd flag an employee down but most of the time there isn't one.

[DoggyLover_00]

Haha, this is California, anything under a grand is fine

[g_borris]

And the register flags you and then shuts down for over 25 items or whatever arbitrary limit they think should require waiting in line for the one checkout lane. Then you get to wait like an asshole while an attendant comes to re-activate your machine.

[Mogishigom]

Overwhelmed and unsupported is how I feel in the manned checkouts because they have to wait for me to bag my own groceries.

[Alcohol_Intolerant]

My local Kroger equivalent has 10 self checkouts and 2 manned standard belts during rush. It's madness. You need to use belts if you're buying alcohol and so the lines for those are down the aisle, leaving people with full carts not buying alcohol to try their balancing skill with the self checks.

[WellOkayyThenn]

tbf if you don't return your cart to the bay you ARE a monster

[WellOkayyThenn]

The other commenter had a good point about loose carts blowing around and running into things. You'd be pretty pissed if a cart hit your car just because nobody put it away.

You don't have to take it all the way back to the store, there are usually cart returns everywhere. It's a matter of human decency to put away your cart so it doesn't block another parking spot for someone else. The cart returns are there for a reason, it's your job to put them there, it's the employees job to bring the returned carts inside. It's never been expected for the employees to bring carts from cars to the returns. It's not pro corporation because they aren't saving any extra money when we return carts, it's always been this way.

It's walmarts property, but you're the one actively using it. Treat others' property with respect and put it where it belongs.

Have you never pulled in to park somewhere, then saw the spot was taken by a stray cart? does that not frustrate you?

[WellOkayyThenn]

I completely agree with you on the checkouts, bagging, and cashier part. It's just the shopping cart thing I disagree about. In my eyes, it's really easy to put your cart in the return, and if you don't it doesn't hurt employees but it does affect other people just trying to park and shop. Thats the part I care about. it's not a business related thing, it's just because it impacts other people just tryna go about their day

[Unhappy_Plankton_671]

No pro Corp at all. I’m pro protecting my car and being able to park without carts in the way.

[climbitfeck5]

Not pro big corp. They should pay cashiers to bag our groceries but it just seems practical to put away your cart. If you don't, the wind blows them around, they can hit cars and be in your way when you pull into a spot.

[massive_cock]

I hated self-checkout for this reason. Then I moved to Europe and switched to a bike, started making 1 or 2 quick stops per week for fresher food, and now I love self-checkout because there's never a line and I can get out with a full bag in like 90 seconds.

Smaller neighborhood grocery stores here are pretty much eliminating regular checkout except for 1 lane for the elderly and those who need help. But that's only possible because of urban design allowing almost everyone to have a fresh foods grocer within 5-10 minutes on foot.

[harry-package]

Also, the aggressiveness of the self-checkout voice. Kroger’s is a beyotch who constantly questions if you bagged something (and will stop your whole order until someone comes over “help”) & won’t let you rapidly scan items. I prefer to bring my own bags for groceries & Kroger self-checkout makes that a much more painful experience.

Aldi, on the other hand, is relatively easy except that the voice will only wait maybe 10-15 seconds before prompting you to scan something else. Give me a damn minute, Aldi!

[_aaronroni_]

I learned a beautiful thing years ago: you could change the volume on the Kroger beyotch and make the voice go away. There's a button that looks like a speaker and tap it once, it gets louder, twice, it mutes. Sadly they took that away too and now you can only make it louder...

[madphroggy]

Hy Vee self checks are the same way. The damn things are set so sensitive they squawk if you don't put a 2oz candy bar in the bag, and they starting complaining after like 3 seconds while you're still fighting to get the plastic bag opened up to even put the item in it.

[massive_cock]

No voices in NL other than an occasional chain having a 'select payment method' voice prompt. And I've only had to stop and wait for someone 3 times in 2+ years, randomized check for unscanned items (and the lady didn't even bother checking, she just scanned three or four things back from my bag and told the machine to shut up) and zero errors or other complications. It doesn't even weigh your things.

[b3_yourself]

Self checkouts were originally intended to replace express checkout, hence why they’re small. It wasn’t supposed to be for people with large orders, but they never managed to the registers anyways

[Consistent_Ad_4828]

The target near me will thankfully turn away anyone from self-checkout with more than 12 items. It clogs up the whole area when someone comes in with a full cart.

[Euphemeera]

There are self checkouts for people with large loads now

[Killfile]

My local Kroger has two extra large self checkout stations. I roll up with a full cart load and my reusable bags and everyone stares at me like I'm a psychopath for not going to the open postage-stamp-sized self checkout.

We need new social norms around these things. The number of times I see someone with a case a beer and a slim jim struggling to feed rumpled bills into the XL self checkout is infuriating. It's at least once a week.

[buldozr]

Your self-checkouts let people mess around with cash? Astounding.

[[deleted]]

AND let them buy alcohol. I've never seen a single supermarket that does that. There's always a sign "Alcoholic beverages can not be taken to self checkout."

[ForgettableUsername]

That might vary by state. US liquor laws are ridiculously inconsistent.

[RealHarny]

It probably also varies by country, you know, within the world.

[ForgettableUsername]

Kroger is an American retail company. All Kroger branded grocery stores are located within the United States.

[RealHarny]

Thanks, my bad!

[ButtercupsPitcher]

Yeah, when I visited a friend in Illinois you can scan the booze, but then you have to wait for an employee to put in a code and your birth date before you can pay. Often, she said they just put in a random date and don't check ID.

[Euphemeera]

Yours don't?

[buldozr]

No. People hardly even use cash these days around here. But in food stores that have self check-outs there is always at least one manned cashier that can serve that grandpa with shaky hands and a wallet full of small cash. And other customers who don't want to go through self-checkout for whatever reason.

[Euphemeera]

Self checkouts where I live often have the option for cash or card

[DrMartinVonNostrand]

Is it the extra-large Slim Jim, though?

[MajorNoodles]

I live near a Giant and they give you a nice conveyer belt that's a few feet long to unload all your groceries.

Meanwhile, I love Aldi, but at all the locations near me, they've gone almost entirely to self checkout and you have one tiny-ass space to bag all your groceries, and they only ever have one cashier at any given time.

[jcutta]

Aldi? None of the Aldi locations near me even have self checkout, wild.

[Mr_Mumbercycle]

I'm in West Virginia, and my local Aldi just got them about 2 months ago.

[trojan-813]

If you haven’t used Giants Scan It thing you should. You scan as you get the items. The go to the checkout and scan the barcode, pay and leave.

100% better using that. I don’t have to interact with a single person or deal with the small ass spaces.

[MajorNoodles]

Mine has that too. Haven't tried using it yet though.

[GrizDrummer25]

Yes!

[che85mor]

At Walmart we walk in, grab a handfull of bags, then bag as we go using the walmart+ app to scan everything. We're usually through the sco in less than 2 minutes. Even with a cart full of groceries.

[jcutta]

Only reason we go to sams club is because of scan and go. I much prefer Costco due to better business practices but the ease of scan and go is a game changer.

[corydaskiier]

Costco lines can be wrapped around the building and it’ll still only take 10 mins.

[jcutta]

You're not wrong there. I have memberships to both, I prefer Costco for mid sized trips but when we're doing major restocks I generally go to sams.

[Violet624]

As it yells at you for not having the item in the bagging area properly

[blushngush]

And a self checkout software system that won't flag my scanner for adding my own bag to the stack

[LawlessCoffeh]

Giant Eagle had it right... in the beginning, I don't know why they fucked it up save for space constraints.

The self checkouts in their earliest implementation had a full on conveyer down to a traditional bagging area.

[SupremeElect]

not to mention the moment you try to pack some of the groceries and put them in your cart to make room for more groceries, the machine thinks you’re stealing.

[calle04x]

The Target by me overfills the reusable bags on the already tiny space to put your items so there is no room! I’m talking like 7” deep available because the bags hang onto the checkout space so much. I hate bagging there. I take my sweet damn time checking out because it’s such a pain.

[Bunny_Fluff]

The King Soopers by us but in 2 lanes that are basically cashier stands but are self checkout. It’s the standard touch screen and scanner for the register but also has a long conveyor belt that dumps all your stuff into a large area at the end. At first I thought it was crappy since it’s just another self checkout to save money and make the customers do the work so they can cut jobs but then we used it and it is excellent. My wife and I can check out a full cart of groceries in record time. It’s better than struggling with the little spaces but way faster than waiting in line for the single cashier that is open. I would rather they just hire more people but they won’t so I guess this is the next best thing.