Shoppers around the world have expressed frustration at the use of self-checkouts, saying they prefer human interaction when paying for their groceries.
According to a report by Good Morning America in the US, self-checkout represented 30 percent of transactions in 2021 and was offered at 96 percent of food retailers. But customers often complain about tech glitches, with some items not scanning properly, so store employees need to jump in to help.
While some consumers said self-checkout can be convenient, others said it makes them miss a human connection. A frustrated woman said: “A lot of us want a human being.
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“We want to have that conversation, we want to be able to voice our concerns, ask a question about a product.”
While addressing self-checkouts, a shopper put it bluntly, saying: “I hate it. There’s always that one item that doesn’t scan and then all of a sudden that light goes from green to yellow above you.”
Hitha Herzog, chief research officer and retail analyst and H Quared Research LLC, said: “The technology that is powering self-checkout is also layering in other technology like AI that’s monitoring the customer that’s checking out the product.”
Heather Frye, COO of Rivertown IGA, said self-checkouts are “just an option” for customers who prefer it. She explained: “If you don’t want to use it, please go and see a regular cashier. They’re gonna know you, they’re gonna know your family, know what you usually shop for.” She joked: “They’re gonna talk about the town gossip.”
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A person who loves self-checkouts commented on the GMA video saying: “I love self-checkout. I am able to bag my groceries exactly as I want them – THE RIGHT WAY!”
Last month The Mirror US reported that a person who went to Lowes threatened to leave the hardware giant and start using Amazon after publishing a list of gripes, including that no cashiers were working in the store when they were there, forcing them to use the self-checkout machine.
They went onto X, formerly called Twitter, where they said: “@Lowes went to your store today as I always do only to find out you no longer have any cashiers only self checkout. What next? [Am] I gonna have to unload the trucks? I might as well order from Amazon.”
They blamed management for the problem, though it is unknown what the reason was for the lack of staff. Stores will often use only self-checkout at the very beginning and end of the day, when traffic is lighter.
The technology has become commonplace across the country in the past decade. And while self-checkout is meant to help ease the customer experience, many people are against them because they take away jobs or end up making the customers do the work.
The threat of going to Amazon is becoming common amongst anti-self-checkout complaints. However, e-commerce has been blamed for the brutal market conditions that have seen hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores disappearing.
