Target making major change at certain stores to fight theft – and employees fear some shoppers will be ‘extremely upset’

TARGET shoppers can expect a major change at several locations as the retailer reportedly implements a new initiative to help curb retail theft and staffing issues 

Customers who tend to stick to late night shopping will likely be the most affected by the big change. 

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As retail theft has run rampant across the country for months, major retailers like Walmart and Target have been forced to implement various security measures to protect their goods and prevent shoplifting. 

While typically these policies have been focused on receipt and bag checks or locking products, Target is reportedly limited checkout hours. 

Target employees have confirmed to Business Insider that the company is limiting when shoppers can use self-checkout machines. 

While most Target locations are open from 7am or 8 am until 10 pm, many customers have noticed that self-checkout service lanes have only been open between 10 am or 11 am until 8 pm.

Employees confirmed to the outlet that several key factors behind the move are theft, staffing levels and sales volumes. 

At least one Target employee located in Illinois claimed the self-checkout hours at her store have been reduced, and the machines are no longer available after 8 pm. 

Currently, not all of Target’s locations nationwide are implementing the policy. 

However, it was not immediately clear how many stores had changed the hours. 

Target did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment. 

One Michigan staffer told Business Insider that their location has not yet made the hours change, and is worried about the customer reaction. 

“If and when we do have to close the self-checkouts in the morning and in the evening, we’re going to have a lot of people extremely upset with us,” the employee reportedly said. 

“I’m going to have to explain to them that they are closed down due to theft.”

Target employees in Oklahoma have also reportedly said they are concerned that if they shut down the self-service lanes, their locations may not have enough staffers to cover the manned checkout aisles, leading to longer lines as the store opens or begins to close. 

The change in self-checkout hours comes as many shoppers have taken to social media to blast major retailers over the security measures implemented to curb shoplifting. 

While companies have defended the policies, shoppers have claimed they ruined the customer experience, by adding unnecessary time to their shopping trips or causing long lines. 

That’s not the only thing shoppers have recently been complaining about, as many have grown frustrated with the increased use of self-checkout machines. 

One woman said she walked right out of a Target after she saw self-service was the only way to pay during her visit. 

Meanwhile, others have blasted the retailer for limiting shoppers to only 10 items when using the machines. 

“Target making self check out 10 items or less is dumb. Usually theres no line for self checkout here but there’s a long line for the two or three cashiers because those customers have alcohol,” one person wrote on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/10381679/target-major-self-checkout-change-fight-theft/