The self-checkout lane is not a new invention. Their presence has been notable in various grocery, convenience, home improvement, and dollar stores for years. But increasingly, rather than inserting them as an option that consumers can choose voluntarily, retailers are designing them to be the only method shoppers can use to complete their purchases. According to one estimate, 55 percent of grocery transactions now involve self-checkout activities.

In promoting the appeal of self-checkout options, retailers often cite the convenience, speed, and control they offer shoppers. People do not need to wait as long in line, nor do they feel pressured to make friendly small talk with cashiers. But such claims of the appeal of self-checkout to consumers might be masking the real driver of the ever-increasing trend: It saves retailers a lot of money.

If retailers can shift the labor involved in the checkout process to consumers, rather than cashiers whom they employ and pay, the cost savings would be substantial. In addition, it provides a solution to ongoing and inherent labor challenges, including difficulties hiring qualified applicants and scheduling sufficient staff.

In response, Kroger has announced plans to open more self-checkout-only stores, though thus far, it has implemented the project in just a few stores. Walmart, Dollar General, and Target also have increased their uses of self-checkout, though they have stopped short of converting their stores to feature these lines exclusively. If the Kroger experiment proves successful, those retailers appear ready and willing to join the bandwagon though.

Their choices also seem well-supported by some evidence that redesigning the checkout area to accommodate self-checkout can prompt more impulse purchases by shoppers. Various stores are experimenting with different layouts and designs, moving different products into the shelves near the self-checkout line and experimenting with open queues, conventional lines, and other patterns. According to one merchandising study, people notice displays more and interact with certain products, such as colas in coolers, more in the self-checkout lines than in staffed lines.

But these solutions are not universally popular. Many consumers complain that they find the newly imposed task of finding bar codes, scanning them accurately, and bagging their purchases overly oppressive. Despite the stress it causes, shoppers feel compelled to rely on self-checkout though, because the stores offer few staffed lines. They thus deny the retailers’ assertions that consumers find self-checkout convenient and appealing. Instead, many people realize that the underlying purpose is to make them work harder, so the stores can save money, a motivation they find both frustrating and inappropriate.

Beyond consumers’ negative responses, self-checkout creates a risk of increased theft for the retailers. It is relatively easy for unethical shoppers to slip extra small items into their bags, perhaps especially the impulse-sparking candy bars and gum items that usually appear near the scanners. And customers annoyed by the need to devote effort to perform a task that previously would have been done by a store clerk might induce a sense of justification. “If I am being forced to work to check myself out,” they might reason, “the store should be paying me for my labor. I deserve this extra Snickers bar for free then!”

Discussion Questions

1. Are the benefits of self-checkout lines sufficient to outweigh any annoyance they might create among consumers? Why or why not?
2. Does the temptation or reasoning that stores “owe” consumers free products if they must work to check themselves out resonate with you? How can retailers convince shoppers that this reasoning actually is unethical—or can they?

Sources: Daniel Kline, “Kroger Makes a Change Customers Hate (Walmart and Target May Follow),” The Street, August 1, 2023; Rajeev Sharma, “Self-Checkout Usage and Productivity Continue to Soar,” VideoMining, April 25, 2023