Walmart Scales Back Self-Checkout Amid Security and Customer Feedback

I like self checkout. I struggle with talking to people and it can really drain on me so it's a godsend to have if I only need to run in for a few things.

People are using it to steal because people can't afford the basic necessities anymore and we've lost a shit ton of our purchasing power.

i'm right there with you. i'm at the point where i will go self-checkout even if the line is shorter for the cashier. I checkout faster than most cashiers. I don't like having to rush with laying everything out and then rush to bag it before the next person. I usually have headphones in at the store to tune all the bs out, I don't want to take them out to make small talk with an 18 year old for 2 minutes while they fumble with my groceries. Self-checkout is just better at this point.
- Where the hell are you shopping that you have to make small talk? I say "hi" when I walk up. Wait while they scan. They say "that'll be $10". I tap my card, say "thanks" and leave.
  If people can't even interact with each other on a surface level like that it's no wonder we're all so lonely and depressed.
Agreed. Governments need to put a stop to greedflation, get employers to pay people better and tax the ultra wealthy more.
- I think that's a good start if electoralism can get us that far. That does sound a whole lot better than the way we have it now
I like self checkout. I struggle with talking to people and it can really drain on me so it's a godsend to have if I only need to run in for a few things.
Valid take.
That being said, I'd probably prefer human checkout unless we can get a more-automated form of self checkout. Self checkouts have gotten a lot better since the early days, but human checkers are still faster than I am at the self-checkout and if a human is doing the checkout, I can dick around on my phone or whatever.
Cost savings are nice, but cost savings on my groceries just aren't a massive concern for me. There just isn't that much human time being expended on checking my back out. I don't have strong feelings about the human interaction one way or another.
Maybe one day, we can get some sort of robotic arm setup that can do checkouts as well as a human checker, and then I'd quite happily be in the "machine" camp.
- Oh I don't give a crap about their "savings".
  Even if self checkout is more expensive to the companies I still prefer self-checkout for personal reasons rather than economical ones.
  Besides the issues and opportunities for theft that self checkout creates means that it's probably a wash as far as how much money they're saving.
  I definitely understand though not wanting to like scan your own groceries or deal with the whole system it would refer somebody else to do it. That's why they should have both available.

Good. May other retailers and grocery chains follow.

I hate those things - they treat you like a thief by default. I rarely use them and prefer to wait in line for the 1-2 cashiers, but I did the other day because I only had a few bottles of water to check out, and it was unsurprisingly horrible.

Scanned and bagged all my stuff. More slowly than I'd have liked, but otherwise uneventfully. I unpocket my wallet to get my shopper's card and debit card out. "Oh no, you didn't!" the machine said as it called for backup. Cue waiting 3-4 minutes for the attendant to get to me.

The machine asked the attendant if I was stealing and showed a replay of what it assumed must be me trying some Ocean's 11 level of grand larceny. In the video? It was me getting my wallet out to pay.

Absolutely no time was saved. Nothing was more convenient, and to top it off, I was once again accused of stealing by a bathroom scale with delusions of grandeur.

Is this experience at Walmart specifically? The only store I go to regularly that has self-checkout machines is a local grocery store and I love them. No issues for me.
- I rarely go to Walmart. This is from the local Kroger (grocery store).
Now realize those things are internet connected... and that video was definitely uploaded.
I rather not need mass surveillance to buy a fucking snickers.
- I doubt you can find a snickers being sold that isn’t under camera surveillance uploaded somewhere at this point.
  It’s 2025. If you’re outside, you’re on video.

Never had a problem with them, they always save me time even if I have to wait a few minutes in line 🤷 good for the workers though

Bold of you to assume this means they are hiring more workers...
Where are you based? I have a theory that the European implementation is just way better
- Montana

The Safeways here in WA (at least in parts) have shifted from the old weight-based system(?) to some new AI/camera system. It gets upset if you move incorrectly in front of it because it thinks you may have bagged something you hadn't scanned yet.

Last time I went shopping I got stuck waiting for 5+ minutes when the machine flagged me and there wasn't any available staff to review it with me. When the manager finally came over, we had to watch the video capture of me scanning (love the privacy invasion) and then she counted the items in my bag "just to make sure". Afterwards she stood behind me and watched me finish scanning "in case it happens again". Whatever. This feels neither efficient nor convenient. It feels like something else.

This has been my issue with it. They keep making self checkout (or even the regular shopping experience) more like going through security checkpoints. It feels like I'm a criminal even though I'm doing everything properly.
At my local Wal-Mart they have you walk through one way gates, and two or three metal detectors, cameras filming you regardless of which checkout you go through. They also have started locking up more and more items.
I understand they are trying to reduce theft. But it feels like they are trying to put a bandaid on a wound when they're part of the problem to begin with lol. You also see these changes roll out over the years as people begin to struggle more and more. It seems like the solution should be obvious, but instead of being treated like people, we're treated like resources for companies. Just value extraction units. Extract value through work, extract value through consumption

A friend told me about her experience in a fully automated hostel with sleeping pods where the automatic doors may or may not malfunction when you try to open them with a magnetic wrist band. That's horror film material imo. I hope this shit gets wrecked and forgotten together with the self checkout. I'd like to meet some real people please, all you profit hungry corporation go shove these robots up yours yesterday.

So, a couple of things about this story ... first, the formatting is atrocious. Subheds and interstitial, irrelevant photos after every graf as the piece continues can't possibly be how anyone wants to read news.

Seriously, what does this art have to do with a story about self checkout?

That's just irritating. The larger issue is just how sympathetic this is toward Walmart. Straight news never includes the word "innovative," so that's a red flag we're reading marketing, and it's far from the only example.

The reporting overall isn't terrible when it's not fawning over the company, but that serves only to provide the illusion that this isn't spin but merely an angle. Unfortunately, fawn it does. Like, who the hell was ever going to Walmart for the human experience and personalized service?

I mean google says it’s a fashion and style blog, so I don’t think anyone is under the impression this blog site publishes news per se, or is anything more than a gussied up marketing channel.

Good I prefer the cashiers because they usually miss scanning something so i get random discounts