Growing number of retailers remove self-checkout lanes

A growing number of retailers are reconsidering their reliance on self-checkout lanes in an effort to clamp down on the shrinkage and theft of their merchandise.

Among those reworking its use of self-checkout lanes are bargain retailers Dollar General and Five Below, the former of which removed this option at 12,000 of its locations. Five Below, meanwhile, has stated that it is removing the self-checkout option at its “highest risk locations.”

Target has also been reevaluating its self-checkout lanes, as it announced in March that most of its stores nationwide would only allow customers to use self-checkout when buying 10 items or less. These lanes could also be closed entirely depending on the time of day and how many customers are shopping.

A study from last year found that 69% of respondents believe that self-checkout lanes are a contributing factor to shoplifting at stores. 15% of respondents also admitted to stealing items via self-checkout, with 44% of these respondents saying they were likely to use this method to steal in the future.

Management for Costco, which revealed last year that it was adding more staff to self-checkout lanes to prevent theft, stated that its shrink in merchandise had increased, at least in part, “due to the rollout of self-checkout.”

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Grocery retailer Safeway revealed earlier this month that it was also removing its self-checkout lanes in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, citing the need to create a safe environment for both its employees and customers. One of the chain’s locations in Oakland, California, had already removed these lanes and replaced them with a display of soda cans.

Stores in the United States and Europe using self-checkout lanes and apps have had a loss rate of about 4%, according to a study.