Walmart continues to remove self-checkout from its stores in an effort it says is to improve customers’ “in-store experience.
“At two stores – in Shrewsbury, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio – the retailer said it will replace kiosks with staffed checkout counters, which “will allow our associates to provide more personalized and efficient service.
“Many retailers are abandoning self-checkouts because they’re especially vulnerable to theft – and it could be a historic moment for the world’s largest retailer.
“Most of the withdrawals of self-checkout are due to retailers’ concerns about theft,” Neil Saunders, chief executive of GlobalData, told DailyMail.com.
“Theft rates at self-checkouts are quite high due to intentional actions and accidental errors. Forcing more customers to use staffed checkouts would solve many of these problems and save retailers money,” he added.
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“We have decided to eliminate self-checkout systems and replace them with staffed checkout systems in some locations,” a Walmart spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
“This decision is based on several factors, including feedback from associates and customers, shopping habits, and business needs in the area.
They added that there are currently no plans to fully restore brick-and-mortar aisles at its more than 4,500 U.S stores. Self-checkouts are also more prone to customer errors when scanning or weighing items.
Some products – such as fruit, meat, and freshly cooked produce – do not have barcodes and must be entered manually into the system.
Customers may intentionally or unintentionally enter cheaper product codes, causing damage to the store.
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This comes after three Albuquerque, New Mexico stores did the same thing last year, Albuquerque Journal reported.
Many other retailers are taking similar steps. Dollar General is eliminating aisles entirely, while it was recently revealed that Target is introducing sensors to detect theft. A new system uses cameras and sensors to detect items that shoppers cannot scan and notifies them with audio and visual signals.
However, the secret technology – called TruScan – is different from simply having CCTV cameras aimed at an area monitored by security staff.
Instead, the plan is to use computers powered by artificial intelligence to monitor shoppers as they scan items.
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Target began rolling out the cameras a few months ago and will equip all U.S. stores with them by the end of the year.
Last month, Dollar General announced it would eliminate self-checkouts from 300 stores with the highest levels of theft and improperly scanned items.
At another 9,000 locations, they said they are converting some self-checkouts to regular checkouts and limiting self-checkout purchases to five items or less at 4,500 stores of other goods.
The company says these changes will help reduce “shrinkage.” This is retail industry jargon for loss of merchandise due to theft, damage to goods, and administrative errors.
“We believe these actions are likely to have a material and positive impact on contraction,” Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos told analysts.
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