Big changes hit US self-service check-outs

Some of the biggest retailers in the US have made major changes to their self-service check-outs that could have big implications here.

Some of the biggest retailers in the US have made major changes to their self-service check-outs that could have big implications for Aussie retailers.

As of last weekend, discount department store chain Target has limited the use of its self-service checkout to customers with 10 items or fewer across its 2000 US stores.

The company began piloting the move in around 10 per cent of its stores in the second half of last year, and in a statement said it found that “self-checkout was twice as fast at our pilot stores”.

“By having the option to pick self-checkout for a quick trip, or a traditional, staffed lane when their cart is full, guests who were surveyed told us the overall checkout experience was better, too,” the company said.

It added that in line with the change, it would also be opening more traditional check-outs staffed by team members.

Target in the US has a new policy of limiting self-service check-out to 10 items or fewer.

Meanwhile, fellow US retail giant Walmart is taking steps to reposition access to its self-service check-outs as a quick checkout perk, which is only available to users of its Spark service and customers who buy a membership to its Walmart+ loyalty program.

Spark is the retailer’s quick delivery program, with self-employed drivers shopping for customers and delivering their orders between 8am and 10pm, while membership to the Walmart+ program costs $US98 ($A149) per year.

Customers have taken to social media to complain about the changes, with one writing on X: “I was at Walmart earlier and tried to go to the self checkout line.

“I was stopped and told that ‘At this time, the self-checkout lanes are only for Walmart+ members only’.

“Seriously? I need a subscription to go to self checkout now?”

A sign at Walmart advertising the new policy.

Business Insider reported that a Walmart spokesperson said that rather than a directive from head office, the move is the result of store managers experimenting about what works best for both customers and employees.

“Based on several factors including customer and associate feedback, shopping patterns, and business needs, some locations are temporarily testing different checkout staffing options,” the spokesperson said, denying the changes were intended to drive more people to sign-up for its membership plan.

In November last year, up-market British grocery store chain Booths announced it would remove self-service check-outs from all but two of its 28 grocery stores.

“Our customers have told us this over time – that the self-scan machines that we’ve got in our stores … can be slow, they can be unreliable (and) they’re obviously impersonal,” Booths managing director Nigel Murray told the BBC.

A customer took to X to complain about the change at Walmart.

It is understood Coles have no plans to limit the use of different types of check-outs to certain customer types.

A Coles spokesperson told news.com.au that self-service check-outs “are the checkout of choice for more than two in three customers, and we continue to see these numbers increase”.

“Over the past year, we have seen greater customer satisfaction and uptake in our self-service options – including our larger self-service check-outs with a conveyor belt,” the spokesperson said.

“Of course, if customers prefer to be served by a team member, someone will always be available in the service area to serve them.”

Woolworths declined to comment on whether it had any changes planned for its self-service check-outs.