The Hidden Cost Of Self-Checkout 

In the Netherlands there's a system that I love that allows you to use a "checkout pistol" (or even your phone with the supermarket app) to check the item as soon as you grab it. I love it because I can already put it in a carrying bag (or my backpack) head out to the checkout and do the whole process in less than 10s. By far the best usability and time saving I've seen in self-checkout so far

One cost of self checkout not mentioned is the cost to customers when they mess up or the machine messes up and they get accused of theft. The surge in shoplifting has made stores less inclined to believe it was an honest mistake, and the threat of jail time, expensive lawyers, etc is used to bully innocent people into paying excessive fines just to make it go away.

Visited the local Target and they only had self check out lanes open. These didn’t accept cash, an employee had to complete my transactions. Felt like they were just making me do most of the cashier job for free.

There are some obvious oversights in the calculations in this video: - When calculating efficiency, you only counted the time needed for one customer's items. You did not account for wait time, which is the main advantage of self-checkout. Since there are more checkout machines, you will have a much shorter wait on average. - When calculating the cost, you somehow include the installation cost of self-checkout machines, but for traditional staffed checkout lanes. That changes the math fundamentally, and makes self-checkout much cheaper.

As a Dutch person, self-check out is faster here 90% of the time, and in quite a few stores the only option. I don't know what machines the "unknown item in bagging area" meme comes from, but I've never ever experienced a check-out machine check the bagging area. Also, hand-scanners to scan while doing groceries and bagging as you do groceries will still be quicker then unloading and reloading a cart any day

Self service is intended to benefit the supermarkets only, not the customers.

I prefer cashiers when I'm making a big purchase. They are going to be faster than me, no question about it. Self checkout, to me, only makes sense when you have a handful of items.

Yeah, they should give you a discount if you use it because you’re doing more work for yourself

One thing you're not including in your efficiency consideration is how much faster the line moves to get to the register. I maybe slower scanning, but 6 self checkout lanes goes faster than waiting 4 deep for a single cashier. My time from ready to check out to getting to my car is not faster through the cashier lane cause I'm wasting time in line

I tried a self-checkout once....read: ONCE! I had only three small items. Two of the items I can't remember what they were, but the third was a Sharpie Marker. Damn thing froze up, started squawking "Wait for a service rep" or some such nonsense, Age Verification lit up the screen. Had to stand there forever for someone MUCH YOUNGER than my 68yo self to come swipe a badge, enter some special code and clear it so I could buy...a Sharpie. Found out this goes for beer, wine, spray paint, some glues, nail gun cartridges, dozens of OTC pharm items....no thanks! Just not worth it.

The solution is Thieves (white and black): in LA, stores that put in only automated cash register check outs soon found that theft had gone through the roof, and immediately rehired people.

My local Walmart has added more human cashiers. They're faster and easier than the self-checkouts now. Also, I tend to buy lots of age restricted items (beer, brake cleaner, cans of compressed air), and it's just easier to plop my ID on the conveyor belt next to the restricted item.

I am of mixed race while my roommate is white. Every time we go to Kroger, the self checkout machine tells me to “please make sure to scan your items before placing them in the bag” even though I did. Meanwhile, my roommate could basically walk right out of the store without paying and have no consequences…

Never understood the complaints about seeing a person. Even as an introvert, not that difficult to deal with a cashier. About the only two places I would willingly use self-checkout are Home Depot (mainly due to necessity as no cashiers are ever working but at least they have the hand-held scanner) and the grocery store that had the long conveyer belt like a normal line; alas, the latter was "remodeled" and they removed the belt, meaning my items no longer fit. At least with a cashier, I can put stuff BACK into my cart after scanning! (I will admit for certain types of purchases, there is an inherent uncomfortableness to the purchase where self-checkout makes sense. Sitcoms have made use of this trope so I can accept it as the exception to my first statement about dealing with an actual person.)

The one thing that needs to be said - The $110-115B figure on theft from self-checkouts is false. That is the retail industry reporting the retail value, and not the actual cost. Typically, if you're claiming the costs of theft on taxes, it is on the value of the said item, while for news purposes the retail facing companies report the sticker value of the products.

My issue with checkouts is having to wait for my turn. If a supermarket isn't busy, management assigns cashiers away from checkouts so I have to wait, but self-service is always available.

Simple solution stop using these machines save the jobs of your neighbors

I love Self-checkouts and I have never gone to a cashier since 2019. I love the flexibility to pack the items the way I want which makes unpacking and arranging items at home a breeze while not wasting 20+ plastic bags for packing my 30 items. I'm way way faster than your average cashier and I'll never go to a cashier to waste my time and resources.

I've always loved using self checkout and never understood why some people hated it. Then I moved to a different city and encountered the self checkout machinw that was weighing every item after I scanned it, didn't allow me to pack items in multiple bags, got atuck and required the help from employees. At that moment I understood what everyone else was talking about. So there are different ways to do self checkout it seems. One is efficient and allows a customer a great deal of freedom, and another takes more time to troubleshoot that you save. I'd say the second one isn't worth it, and I cant understand the stupidity of the stores that install them. They dont prevent theft because a malicious person can still do any of the tricks described in the video. But they make the experience miserable for everyone. So in this new store I'm now stuck waiting in line to a cashier if I decide to buy more stuff than can fit in a bagging area.

Kroger's self check-out is atrocious. I never have any issues with Walmart or Meijer self-check-out

Our local Walmart has just CLOSED all of the self-checkout machines. When asked the cashiers are saying it’s because of theft. I suppose people are not scanning all of the items in their cart and getting away with it even though there is employees standing right there in the self-checkout area and they have someone looking at your receipt on the way out.

Supermarkets have been trying to make your shopping smaller so you go back more often. They want the weekly shop to be a thing of the past as you will make more impulse buys the more often you go. Self Checkout is designed to make you do a smaller shop as the hassle of scanning it all is awkward. Why in a shop the size of ASDA (Walmart) the self checkouts are tiny where a basket full is as much as they want you to get instead of a full trolley.

This analysis is ignoring several factors in favor of self-service checkout: it ignores the time to stay in line at a regular cashier vs a self-service checkout which is cheaper and takes less space, and it ignores the cost of a regular checkout lane, comparing just the employee cost to the employee + equipment cost of self-service.

Aldi is faster. Every product has multiple bar codes on them.

I don't understand why people like self-checkout, even if you dislike social interaction you literally don't have to ever say anything to the cashier.

The local Walmart near me has 7 or 8 self checkouts at each end of the store. However, 2-3 will not be working at both places. They have at most 3 registers operating but there'll be 4 people standard at the self checkout areas talking to each other while an elderly person is struggling to get their purchases rung up properly.

There’s one way to end self checkouts. Stop using them. Plain and simple. All the losers who “dread social interaction” can become human again and realize that social interaction is truly the only thing that makes us human.

In Italy, the self out post weights every article. There's one employee per 8 posts. So no stealing and no long waits. But they often put an item limit.

I hate self check outs. We didn’t ask for them, the staff didn’t ask for them, no one asked the consumer if it was ok. No one asked me to work for them! It’s bad enough that we have to bring our own bags, and pack them ourselves…now we check out ourselves…next we will be stocking the damn shelves! At least give us the option…have the same amount of cashiers open, to match the amount of self check out kiosks. I hate shopping now, I get so angry and frustrated. I am forced to take my elderly relatives shopping, as they can’t work all this technology, that’s MY time I don’t get paid for, time I never used to have to dedicate to help my relatives. Of course I don’t mind, I love them, but when you think about it, it’s an added task that has been forced onto me, and taken away from their independence. Don’t even get me started on how these damn machines don’t work correctly and take more time to navigate. Every consumer should protest and say no to this self check out systems…WE DON’T WANT THIS TECHNOLOGY!!!

I’m not understanding how it won’t let you scan the next item until you place the last item in the bagging area. Yet, it will scan the same item twice if you don’t move it off of the scanner fast enough!

As a unpaid untrained self checkout operator, I always seem to accidentally ring in steaks as bananas or forget to ring something up

Never thought of the unpaid labor aspect of the beloved self-check out line…. THANK YOU LAURA

The main thing that keeps me going to the self checkout is the single line. Most stores have a "self checkout area" that is served by a single line instead of one line per cashier. I never have to get stuck behind the slow customer or slow cashier because the one line goes to four or eight checkouts. I really wish more stores had a single line for their cashiers too.

Places like Fred Meyer or Safeway will have 20 registers…and at any given time TWO cashiers. So the line for the “traditional” checkout is 8 people deep. But there’s 18 self check ready to go. I only use the cashier if I have a full standard size cart of stuff. Otherwise - self check is always the way to go.

I will literally abandon a cart and go somewhere else before I use a self checkout for more than 5 items.

Not fast at all,if you have full cart of groceries it takes forever to bag,scan and even find room to place bags.only fast it 10-15 items

I bring a folding camping chair with me, in the store cart. If I have no choice other than to use self check out, I take out my chair, unfold it, and sit down the first time the self check out gives an _issue_ . And I stay sat until a store employee comes over, overrides the machine and, usually, scans everything for me. Usually offering to bag my items for me, too. Just to get me out of the way. 😁 Being a senior has only a tiny number of advantages, but this is one.

We didn't have self-checkout in my small town so when I moved to a different country, I got to experience this nightmare. Placed my giant backpack unto the designated area, but as soon as I touched it again to make it a bit more open to insert another item, the system froze. Probably because it detected miniature changes to the weight when I touched my backpack. Cashier had to come 3 times to unfreeze it and decided to help me. It froze on her as well and she just decided, screw it, and dumped the rest of my items on TOP of my backpack. Terrible system.

This channel: One observation and one appreciation: - Most early screen presence was male. Then going forward, with view counts averaging higher with female presenters (often much higher, with one notable exception when people got a chance to bash California's governor), guys have been narrating less and less. 2) I like the seemingly limited focus placed on fancy clothing or make-up.

One interesting thing no one seems to mention about self-checkout. Many of the same people who complain about self-checkout, leave the Walmart (or another store) and drive to the Murphy gas station (or convenience store) and use the pay-at-the-pump and pump their own gas without complaining ... not to mention that they also use the ATM to make deposits and withdrawals. The complainers and thieves are ruining it for those of us who actually like self-checkout

Less jobs for the community less money for the people more money for those who fly over those community.

It’s definitely labor. After seeing many stores for no reason close every register except for self check out and then assign one maybe two people to monitor self check out. Despite an exhaustive long line, the convenience for the consumer is usurped by miserly business practices.

Typically when I shop at my local Walmart, the lines for the self checkouts are from here to Cuba. backed up clear to the produce section. So I bypass the lines and go to the assisted checkouts, where there's usually only one person ahead of me, with only a few items, so I then get checked out and I'm on my way

I love self-checkout. I'm open to all of the more technologically advanced self-checkouts too. I just want to bag my own groceries and avoid small talk.

The reason they want self checkout isn't speed. It's about firing people, and accusing customers of shoplifting when they make a mistake.

It’s always like “assistant has been notified to assist you” and I’m like wtf do I need assistance for?!

To avoid social interaction? Still a greeting person asking me questions like how many items and cash or card. And being forced into getting a human assistant. To save unnecessary labor? The machine doesn't let me do what I should be able to do myself. Like reweigh something, scan id barcode with facial recognition, remove a mistaken scan, etc. And I don't need a human to tell me a machine is open I can see the indicator light. To save time? With how many machines they allow to stay broke, how few they install, or the lanes they close off for not having 1 employee per 4, or lanes reserved for delivery shoppers, there is a long wait when there doesn't have to be.

You assume that the reason people use self checkout is mainly to avoid social interaction. But you don’t realize that there are those of us that just like interacting with systems like those. At least that is why I like them.

I love self-checkout because I always finish faster than if I let some slow cashier do the work lmao. Whenever I go into some stores that don't have a self-checkout, I end up wishing that they did because the cashiers are typically too slow.

A big part of the efficiencies that this doesn’t take into account is the size of self checkouts. At larger stores near me, there are 10 or so self checkout machines in the space where previously only 2 or 3 cashier checkouts would have fit, due to not having space for a cashier, not needing a conveyor belt, and needing less space for packing due to the expectation that only those with fewer items will use them. While the speed of checking items may be faster at a cashier checkout, I generally have to wait at least a minute or two in a queue, which is frustrating and can make the front of the store hard to navigate when they get too long. Diverting only those with smaller baskets to self checkouts means that any individual customer will be through much faster, so queues move faster - and that’s if a queue builds up at all, given the larger number of checkouts able to fit in the area. I probably only have to queue at all 1 in 5 times I go to the store using the self-checkout machines, and the length of my wait is more like 30 seconds. This hugely improves my experience at the store. The main issue I have with self-checkout machines at the moment is that generally they are not set up to work well with heavier bags. If I go to the store with a backpack or bike panniers to carry my items (as I don’t have a car) I cannot generally pack my items into the bagging area, as though the machine will say it has read the weight of the bag before I start, any change in the weight measured due to lifting part of the bag to place an item inside will set off the checkout’s measuring system. This isnt a huge problem - I just pack things into my bag once I have paid, but it does slow down my exit from the checkout area, and thus potentially contribute to others having to queue. The main time I set off the machine now is when I’ve finished, and holding a heavy bag in front of the bagging area to pack my items, and it slightly leans on the weighing area, setting the machine off. I understand why the scale is still monitoring the area, as someone could attempt to put an item in their bags there after they have paid for the other items. What would help in my situation would be either better calibrating the systems to work with heavier bags like backpacks, or putting a small shelf in front of the bagging area that a bag could be leant on, just to take a bit of the weight of a bag being packed, so that a customer doesn’t end up resting a bag I expectedly in the bagging area.

Doesn't say much for society that human checkout is the only contact many people get in "society" (or economy more like it) so self check out makes many people dangerously lonely. Turn suburbs into self-reliant communities with non-competitive participatory democracy, ditch techno-narcissism.

Really great video on something we just take for granted.

4:57 Was the cost of PoS systems for the manual checkout lanes included in the calculations too?

Any advance in use of technology by these companies is not about making the customer experience better, but increasing profit margins. This was made clear when they first said we would always be able to choose between cashiers or self scan machines, then they started closing down cashier lanes to create long lines and coerce people to go to self scan. Some stores actually close down cashier lines in the lat evening and only have self checkout open.

This is such a US-specific fear of choosing. I have never heard anyone in the UK talk about not being able to choose

The big point of self checkout efficiency lies in scale. There is not 1 self check out and 1 cashier.

1) Didn’t consider time spent waiting in time and 2) Didn’t factor in cost of traditional checkout systems + the extra space they take up.

Yes, this practice (removing bag boys) was invented by Walmart.

One time I spent $500 at Wal-Mart, the self-checkout crashed and rebooted and charged me twice.

I don't want to be served by a bloody robot.

One of the grocery stores near me has a price gun. You can price the item and bag it while shopping, then scan the gun at self checkout and pay. Easy peezy. They don’t even check your cart afterwards. I think both options should be available; there are people who cannot bag/scan items themselves, or they just have too many items.

She begins the video with making the human interaction a bad thing. Going to a human cashier means I'm getting everything I paid for. A well trained and efficient cashier won't be bothered by little bumps or problems. They already know what the problems are and solve them quickly. When I check myself out I have to find the numbers on the produce, sigh loudly when the bug spray I bought requires an ID check. I'm also not getting a discount for doing work for the company.

I dunno about the US but in the UK Aldi don't waste no time being friendly. Its also why there is no place for your stuff it forces you to either bag it fast or move to all over to another area so they can start scanning the next customer. They pretty much throw what they scan at you too

In 2011 when i lived on the east coast, stop and shop had the best self checkout experience. You got a scanner you shopped with. Scanned items you wanted then at the end you scanned a register and your items came up and paid. Easy peasy.

We’ve gone back to giving the grocer a list of items you want with hired shoppers

Thank you for tips how to "save" some money on self checkout

I would intentionally check out with a cashier before these caught on. Felt like I was saving someone’s job. Yet the cashiers seemed annoyed that I came through the line.. eventually the lines got so long, with so few workers, I gave up and started using self checkout most of the time. I think many of us have noticed cashiers have gotten less friendly and happy. Because the wages they are paid fell so drastically. Response is that it’s a “teenagers job” which is nonsense.

My local supermarket has none-weighted non-locked-area non-camera-AI-supervision self-checkouts. And its amazing. No "unidentified object". No "doesnt fit weight". Sure, lots of people "miss" some objects, but the speed and comfort makes up for increased sale numbers.

Surprisingly not discussed or even mentioned once in this video are mobile pick-up options, like Target's "Drive Up", especially prominent during and since the pandemic. This is on the complete opposite end of the consumer VS store responsibility sharing. Even better (for the consumer) than the "good old days" referred at 1:10 where you prepare a list and give it to them to shop while you're at the store. Today, you can prepare the list at home, and even know what's in stock while you're doing it, and they'll do the shopping for you all **before** you arrive while you continue living your life. Then they even load it in your car on top of that once you get there; don't even have to leave the driver's seat. Instead of comparing a few saved or extra seconds between checkout options, mobile pick up options probably save me about an hour or more of time on average when I use them. Instead of the consumer doing scanning and bagging for the store, the store is doing what's long been expected of the consumer. And it doesn't (explicitly) cost anything more at any stores I know that do this. If they price it into the product costs, even the people doing self check out are still subsidizing it, so might as well utilize it.

I hate self checkout. When I am forced to use it, I automatically switch to another register rather than wait for help. Otherwise, I wait the 15min for an actual cashier.

in Israel you get this bar code reader when you get in the store and you scan items while putting them in the cart and when your done you just put your cart on the scale and return the scanner

I love self checkout stores I walk up to the checkout and just leave my shopping there and walk out empty handed then go for a pint with the money I've saved

Haha, this is so American. They make the customer do the work of checkout, but still have a bagger.

4:30 IBM doesn’t make the machines anymore. Toshiba does.

I don't care about the speed, i care about the pace. I want to bag things with the speed i choose, not some one shooting me items 24rpm, then rest of the crowd pressuring me with their condescending eyes

"They were obsolete even before they were good." VCDs anyone?

RFID tags are already in use in European stores such as Decathlon. Unfortunately, it not probable the technology will be implemented in grocery stores. Each tags costs around 20 cents, so it is only useful in items that are a bit more expensive like clothes.

Also, auto checkouts don’t need to be paid for idle time and don’t require constant scheduling and management to efficiently limit that idle time. This increases companies fixed costs while removing flexible costs.

My first self-checkout experience was at a KMart in the early 2000s. I remember at first feeling anxious about trying it, but it was very smooth. No problems, just scanned a few items and went out the door.

Remember if you scan alcohol the whole system will freeze and you’ll have to wait for an employee to approve you

Do the stats on speed take into account scrolling through multiple screens to find the code for broccoli or bananas or bulk whole wheat rolls?

I just feel better going to a human checkout i really hate being forced to use the machine

I like the tesco method, you can pick up a PDA at the enterance and scan barcodes as you shop around, you go to the self checkout, scan a QR code, a human cashier may come to you and check if you have scanned everything properly and thats it

the narrator of this video has the most gorgeous eyes and expression that I have ever seen!!

I choose self checkout for two primary reasons: 1. Control, as I can verify the price I’m paying, especially if it’s discounted; 2. With cutting back on labor at every opportunity, I’d rather the fewer employees be out in the aisles to restock, ask questions & check on product (cashiers, as underpaid/under appreciated people, are often not the best people I want to interact anyway with so minimizing that is a bonus). I buy what I can carry on my bike or by feet, so having the opportunity to take the time to pack my various bags without holding up the line is nice. Often I’m packing my bags as I shop so an RFID technology would be appreciated to scan the bag at once, but challenging for produce. As with ordering for pickup, Trader Joe’s is uniquely setup for self checkout but has resisted both as a differentiator, especially for produce. Being probably the densest staffed retail chain in America makes it unique, among other reasons.

RFID does contain e-waste, so Im not convinced that it's suitable for such disposable products. Plus the cost would add a significant margin on something like a can of beans.

Many years ago, I saw a bit on TV about RF ID tags, showing someone walking through a scanner with all the items in a cart then printing out the bill as it was automatically charged to their card. Not sure what happened to that. Sure seems like it would be easier and more efficient.

Would adding extra sensors and RFID tags make self-checkout more expensive than a cashier lane?

Why has it become trendy to beat up on self checkout? Aldi has the fastest manned checkout I have seen - the cashier moves faster than one can unload the cart onto the belt. They also have self check outs now.

The backlash against self-service checkouts is a case study in why Britain is determined to be poor

6:07 The most obvious "more" is when you forget to scan the large/heavy thing(s) you put on the bottom rack of the cart. It's actually wild how it doesn't get noticed by anything since it's almost certainly always the most expensive item(s) on the cart as well.

Don't forget often these checkout machines are on a subscription basis. So per checkout machine it could be hundreds or thousands of dollars per month, and once installed and you renovated your store its a headache and costly to go back.

If they give me a paycheck, I'll ring myself up. Otherwise, they can do their jobs and I'll just be the shopper.

The arguments here apply to some old type self checkouts. I haven't had a problem with one in ages, and when I did, assistance was near instantaneous. Also, people who cry over the lack of "human touch" aren't the ones doing a mind numbing repetitive job every day that an automated system can easily do

This video would've made sense like 5-10 years ago (closer to 10 years), but I can't relate at all anymore - my self-checkout experience has been flawless for years, and I use them a couple times a week or more. I've heard it comes down to the settings set at the business itself; when self-checkout first came out they were set very sensitively, but these days all of them in my state are set more realistically and I haven't had a problem at all (the "bagging area" isn't even checked anymore, you just put stuff straight into your cart, for example). Literally the only times I need an associate to help is for age-restricted items and a few times when a coupon or bottle return slip won't scan or gets stuck in the chute (if that place even uses one). But yes, it sucked and this video made sense... but years ago lol 😅

Some stores have nailed the self checkout! At Meijer I have had absolutely zero complaints. Meanwhile at Giant Eagle.. I won’t even bother.

So cost of increased theft from self-checkout is passed on to everyone! I won't work for them for free; I'd consider self-checkout if I got a kick-back or discount.

I don't know what planet you're on, but all the big HEB and Whole Foods groceries here in Central Texas have large self-checkout areas, usually about 10 stations. Target too. They're not "dead" by any means. At HEB generally 1 staffer handles all 10 stations. Frequent customers get "trained"; I personally go through very quickly because I know how the machines work, and that's true for many other people I've seen.

The only way self checkout makes sense to me is scan as you shop things like exist in stop and shop

In germany self checkout actually works. Them I went to the USA and... well not there. Why is the whole system with items xy not in bagging area in place? Seems to be the main problem. In germany I just scan and pay ans show my reciept at the exit gate with a barcode and scan that to exit the store...