1y ago

Self-checkout theft causing problems for retailers — and shoppers who despise receipt checks

www.cbc.ca /news/business/self-checkout-theft-receipt-retailers-1.6899677

I started using grocery self-checkouts during COVID, but I've kept using them because there's rarely a line (and I'm a misanthrope). I'd probably go back to using regular human checkouts if I had to dig through all my crap to prove what I bought.

Having said that, I've noticed myself making mistakes. I've accidentally failed to scan an item, and I've accidentally entered incorrect codes for produce. When I notice, I fix them, but I've probably missed a few.

I guess the easiest answer is for grocery chains to reinvest some of those windfall profits and hire more cashiers.

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139 comments

How much is the loss really, in the grand scheme of things? Article says 23% of losses are self-checkout and theft, but what's the percentage of losses overall?
Because I'm pretty sure the overwhelming majority of people scan their items correctly. My local stores don't even bother enabling the scale on those machines.
IMO it's got to still end up cheaper than switching back to rows of cashiers, and self checkout is so much nicer and faster. I check my groceries out in less than a minute usually.
Or, if it's such a big problem, maybe they can license the tech Amazon uses for their physical stores. Literally grab what you want from the shelves and walk out and it knows what you took and bills you.
- Oh man I do not want to have to wait at the door, check and make sure they didn't double-bill me for something or charge the wrong price, then try and argue when this inevitably happens...
  
  Then tell them to check THEIR records for THEIR receipt. They 100% have a copy.
  
  You're missing the point. This is about them over-billing the customer with the autopay at the exit.
  Given how bad stores have gotten about that with regular checkout, I wouldn't be surprised. Superstore/Loblaws has been the worst of it to, where they regularly don't honor their own sale prices - especially for bulk/combo prices - at the till so then you have to take it to the under-staffed service counter and wait in line there. Pretty sure it's 100% intentional and that they'd absolutely so it with an autopay system
  
  if it was Amazon's method I don't think you would need to wait, iirc it adds it to your amazon cart and you can see pricing and quantity prior to leaving
- I just wanna add, I am super excited for a world with that last part. No waiting in line, No dealing with stupid miscans on barcodes that no company wants to standardize the location of, pricing would be super simple(it would just appear in my cart when the NFC reader noticed me taking it off the shelf), you wouldn't need to find someone that wants to have the brain numbingly boring job of just standing there.
  It's overall a win-win, the only downside is I can see heavy pushback from older generations because that will basically kill cash tender, so older folk who want to use checks or cash (or even the no digital folk) would have issues with the system
  an alternative system I could see that allows cash tender still, is an online shopping with a pay with cash option at checkout, then the clerk gets your goods, tenders it and then gives your change. Or maybe continue having the self-check area, but if you're paying cash when you enter the building you grab a tablet(more like an NFC/RFID identifier) and all the stuff you grab goes on to that identifier and then when you go to check out you just put your identifier on the machine and pay as you normally would
- Around 3% on average.
- Not sure I want to give away THAT much private data to shop in an Amazon style grocery store

139 comments