Major chain praised for 100% abandoning self-checkout after a decade as experts warn cashiers’ eyes needed to stop theft - TalkLPnews Skip to content

Major chain praised for 100% abandoning self-checkout after a decade as experts warn cashiers’ eyes needed to stop theft

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MAJOR stores including Canadian Tires, Walmart, and a UK grocery chain are ditching self-checkout systems.

Several retail chains implemented self-checkout systems nearly a decade ago in hopes of speeding up lines and cutting labor costs by reducing the number of cashiers.

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Derek Shogren, general manager of a Canadian Tire in Ontario, has revealed why all of the self-checkout machines have been pulled from his storeCredit: Facebook/ derek.shogren.7
The move was made in hopes of a creating a more streamlined checkout process for customers

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The move was made in hopes of a creating a more streamlined checkout process for customersCredit: Getty
Experts believe more cashiers will be coming back to stores as less customers choose to use self-checkouts

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Experts believe more cashiers will be coming back to stores as less customers choose to use self-checkoutsCredit: Getty

The systems haven’t always been a fan favorite as some shoppers prefer to speak with an employee who can assist in the checkout process.

Now, some stores are listening to customer feedback and ditching self-checkout.

Two Canadian Tire stores, in Mississauga and North Bay, Ontario, took out self-checkout stalls completely.

“I’m not comfortable using them and I don’t think some of my customers are comfortable [either],” Dwayne Ouelette, who took over the North Bay location, told CBC.

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“I’d rather my customers see my cashiers and if there’s any questions or concerns, at least there’s somebody they can talk to,” he said.

Shoppers at Canadian Tire applauded the move, telling CBC: “I think that it’s much more customer-focused. It’s not relying on the customer to do the job for the retailer.”

Another customer added: “I’m happy to see that their self-checkouts are gone.”

Over the past two months, several Walmarts in Albuquerque, New Mexico also moved away from self-checkout, along with a supermarket in England.

Most read in The US Sun

It comes as many stores have dealt with increased theft due to a lack of eyes on shoppers at the do-it-yourself stalls.

“Theft is a big, big issue,” retail advisor David Ian Gray told CBC.

“At the self-checkout area … you don’t have the eyes on you like you would with the cashier.”

A survey commissioned by U.S. personal finance website LendingTree discovered that 15% of self-checkout users have purposely stolen an item out of the 2,000 consumers they surveyed.

And 44% of customers who have stolen admitted that they would do it again.

“While self-checkout is convenient, it certainly poses a risk for shoplifting,” LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said.

He noted that many retailers are “wrestling” with whether it’s worth keeping self-checkout and risking increased theft in their stores.

“Ultimately, retailers need to decide whether the self-checkout terminals are worth the risk,” Schulz said.

According to the survey, self-checkout is still a preferred way of checking out as 40% of respondents enjoy using the system.

Read More on The US Sun

However, Gray said that while self-checkout won’t disappear completely, many stores will bring back more cashiers.

“I don’t think self-checkout’s going to go away entirely, but I think we’re going to see a lot of retail swing back into a more balanced choice for shoppers,” he said.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/9744619/canadian-tires-self-checkout-expert-theft/