Stood in line for 20 minutes at Kroger yesterday and found out something wild about self-checkout

I was waiting behind a guy with 40 coupons and pulled out my phone to kill time. Read an article from the National Retail Federation that said self-checkout machines actually cost stores 2.5% more in theft than staffed lanes. That surprised me because I always figured they saved money. Has anyone else seen different numbers from their local grocery chain?

2 comments

2 Comments

kai_brown238d ago

Did the article mention anything about the sensor errors too? Honestly, I used to do self-checkout all the time until I watched a dude at my local Publix accidentally scan a cucumber as something cheaper like three times, and the machine just let it slide. Tbh, after that I started noticing how easy it would be to miss stuff or even just forget to scan something on accident, and the store probably eats that cost. Ngl, the convenience is nice but if they're losing money on theft and mis-scans, they might just start watching us closer or add more security nonsense.

dakota_taylor398d ago

Add more security nonsense" is right, honestly. I feel like people get way too worked up over this stuff. The 2.5% number sounds dramatic but let's be real, stores already factor in shrinkage and theft no matter what system they use. They're not exactly running a charity with manned lanes either, cashiers make mistakes and overcharge or undercharge people all the time. Plus half the time at my local Walmart the self-checkout is faster than waiting for a cashier who's chatting about their weekend. So yeah, maybe they lose a little more but I doubt it's enough to make them rip the machines out. They'd just adjust prices a penny or two if it really hurt them.