‘What gives?’ Target shopper asks as all self-checkouts closed in the middle of day – but people think they know why

A TARGET shopper has been left baffled by the chain’s unclear self-checkout policy that differs per store and has left others angry.

The woman took to TikTok to explain the situation and ask the retailer why it has made the store “more inaccessible.”

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“@target What gives?” Kalanit Emanuelle (@carnival_lights) asked in the caption of her video.

In the clip, she explained that she visited her local Target and found that just one register was open.

She noted that while this is not usually an issue, on this occasion there were no self-checkouts open for shoppers to use instead.

“So they have one man register and no self-checkouts, and a huge line forming,” Emanuelle explained.

Then, the customer at the front of the line wanted to purchase around 60 pieces of baby clothing but with some without tags, they asked the cashier to check all of the prices.

Meanwhile, Emanuelle wanted to buy two drinks, one for herself and one for her husband.

After spotting a worker who is a mutual friend she asked if she could use self-checkout to which he agreed.

“I ask, ‘Is this a corporate mandate? ’cause I remember hearing something about corporate shutting down self-checkouts during certain times,'” she said in the video.

The employee confirmed the theory and allegedly said that the reason why was because “they believe that the usage percentage of self-checkout is too high.”

“So their solution to that is to close all self-checkouts and only open one register?” Emanuelle asked.

“Let me guess, they wouldn’t allot for the hours for payroll to have more people on staff to have checkout lanes open?”

The employee told her that this was “exactly right.”

“So tell me why this multi-billion dollar corporation not only refuses to pay its staff a living wage but also makes the store more inaccessible?” the TikToker asked at the end of the clip.

In the comments fellow Target customers shared their own experiences of the self-checkouts, with some having the opposite issue.

“I had the opposite problem,” one user said.

“They shut down ALL cashiers and only had one set of self check lines open. And a huge line. Soo angry.”

Meanwhile, another shopper gave a possible explanation to the bizarre policy at Emanuelle’s store.

“Saw a vid on this, apparently the idiots running Target said ‘People want more face-to-face!'” they said in a comment.

“And they shut down self-checkout before they close the store.”

Emanuelle agreed but clarified that she was shopping in the “middle of the day” before adding, “Corporate isn’t so smart.”

Employees of the major retailer have allegedly claimed that the new corporate policy dictates that stores only turn on self-checkout machines from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm.

Previously, they were on from 8 am to 10 pm.

With this new system, shoppers have lost five and a half hours that they could use the self-checkout.

The U.S. Sun has previously reported on the frustrations of Target shoppers about this policy with one taking to X, formerly Twitter, to call out the retailer.

“Closing the self-checkout until certain times of the day was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done,” the user posted.

Target employees reportedly said that reducing the hours for self-checkout machines was introduced as an anti-theft measure.

This new policy comes after Target implemented new self-checkout regulations, where some locations only allow for 10 items or less at the self-service kiosks.

This is also a source of frustration for shoppers who have called the move “dumb.”

Target has not confirmed the new policy change.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to the retailer for comment.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/10430469/target-shopper-fumes-self-checkouts-closed-middle-of-day/