Stores are making U-turn on self-checkout: The internet suggests why

 The Independent  

"Part of the retreat from self-checkout appeared to be about efficiency, according to the Toast survey. Some 31 percent of operators listed simplifying operations among their top three business goals, up 12 percentage points from the previous year."

Self Checkout Cartoons

Stores are cutting back on self-checkout lines - and shoppers aren’t mad about it.

Around a third of 340 small and midsize retail operators (36 percent) said they used self-checkout this year - down from 43 percent in 2025, according to an April survey from Toast, a point-of-sale and restaurant management platform.

The rethink on self-checkout comes even as three-quarters of the group of convenience stores, grocery stores and bottle shops polled said they would continue investing heavily in other technology, including, of course, AI.

While retailers pointed to self-checkout problems with efficiency and theft, social media is also awash in shoppers airing their frustrations, from having to scan and bag their own purchases - tasks traditionally handled by employees - to being subjected to loud and sometimes embarrassing prompts from machines.

One infuriated X user posted Wednesday about going through self-checkout, only then to be stopped by an employee who asked to see his receipt.

“I handed it to him, but I’m standing there thinking... wait a minute. You trusted me enough to do the cashier’s job, but now you need to check my work before I can leave? If you don’t trust customers to scan their own stuff, maybe don’t make self-checkout half the store,” he fumed.

“I’m not mad at the employee. He’s just doing his job. But somebody needs to explain how I became the cashier and the suspect at the same time.”

Others on social media complained about feeling watched by store employees or surveillance cameras while using self-checkout.

“I hate when Target and Walmart employees stand there watching me at self-checkout,” one user wrote.

“Like b*****, you can do this s*** yourself! Why am I doing YOUR job while YOU watch me scan my own groceries