Self-checkouts at supermarkets elicit strong opinions. People either love them or hate them.
Many YourLifeChoices members hate them, like really, really hate them. If that’s you, good news: some reports claim we may have hit ‘peak self-scan’, and their popularity may begin to wane.
Self-scanning started rolling out across Australia in 2008. The appeal for supermarkets was clear: less staff, more profit. We know that because prices certainly didn’t go down.
They hit their stride during the pandemic when we were all trying to stay away from each other and now supermarkets, and certain department stores, seem addicted to them.
Some people like them because they don’t have to interact with another human, others loathe them for the same reason.
And there is another subset of people who believe we are losing valuable entry-level jobs, which is probably true. However, if you have ever worked in a supermarket, or spoken to anyone who has, they generally hate working the checkouts due to the abuse and poor attitude of customers, and that’s even before the pandemic seemed to make many of us lose our manners.
Coles and Woolworths
Australia’s Coles and Woolworths went for them in a big way. Coles probably even more. My local Coles won’t open a checkout after about 5.30. I tried another Coles but that one had intimidating-looking gates that open and close seemingly at their whim. It’s why I rarely shop there anymore.
But for all the duopoly’s enthusiasm for the self-checkout, there is a growing movement that is slowly weaning themselves off this trend.
The biggest problem is theft. Self-checkouts are a boon for the light-fingered; that’s why there are often more cameras than at a Donald Trump press conference. But stock ‘shrinkage’ is still happening. Favourite thieving tactics are scanning something at a lesser price or not scanning a card for payment. People are getting away with it because precious few staff members are willing to confront them, and with aggressive customers, who can blame them? I know of one supermarket staff member who was off work for a year after a shoplifter beat him following a confrontation. He was a burly man, now imagine a female staff member willing to do that.
Feeling entitled
People also believe that if they are doing the work of the supermarket, then they are entitled to a ‘discount’.
Earlier this year, Greenslopes IGA in Queensland announced it would be removing all self-checkouts due to the crushing amount of theft.
QUT retail expert Gary Mortimer told the ABC that theft was damaging all sizes of business.
“It’s significant. It’s not just the big supermarkets and the big retailers that are impacted,” Mr Mortimer told ABC Radio Brisbane.
“I think we’re going to see more of this take place, where self-service is one of those areas where we do see a significant lift in shop stealing.”
Mr Mortimer estimated that theft was costing Australian businesses about $9 billion a year.
Several overseas supermarket chains have also reined in their self-checkouts. Booths, Asda and Morrisons in the UK are scaling back to original checkouts, with Morrisons admitting they may have gone “too far”.
Drive productivity
Although they drive some productivity, “some shoppers dislike it, mainly when they have a full trolley”, Morrisons chief executive Rami Baitiéh, told The Telegraph.
The UK is also struggling with theft. Last year shoplifting hit a record high, with recorded offences up one-third on the previous year.
Will Australia follow suit and give pause to the relentless rollout of self-checkouts? Probably not, because there’s too much profit in it. And the duopoly knows we essentially don’t have a choice.
It’s okay for individual IGAs to make a choice, but we’re probably not going to see sweeping change.
Do you like self-checkouts? Why not share your opinion in the comments section below?
I will not use self checkout on principle. It is taking jobs away, all for the sake of the greedy supermarkets.
The people that are using them should be getting a staff discount.
I disagree not all jobs are being taken away. At the supermarket we shop at we look forward to using the self check out as the customer service guy who is employed in that area to assist has a disability and it’s a pleasure each week to interact with him. He is always helpful but best of all he has a wicked sense of humour and always adds a bit of fun to our day. It would be a sad day for us and him if the self service check outs were removed as he would have difficulty operating a normal cash register and hence he would lose that fun interaction with the customers.
I’ll also not use self checkouts on principle, for the following reasons:
1- I’m not an employee and don’t get paid to self check
2- I don’t get staff discounts
3- I’m not entitled to worker’s compensation if anything happens at the self checkout.
One of my local Coles has around 14 of them, whereas there’s only 5 (only a max of 2 open at any one time) of the staffed checkouts. They won’t open the staffed checkouts prior to 10am (especially on the weekends), nor have them open after around 6pm (earlier on the weekends).
It’s surely only a matter of time before self serve checkouts are merged with ATMs and poker machines. Double or nothing on the cost of your groceries? I can see that catching on with a nation of gambling addicts.
I’m just avoiding Supermarkets as much as possible. Once a month for cleaning type products really. I can get everything else from local shops or the Farmers Market
Love them, pack as I want, lower physical operation, don’t have to hike all the goods on the conveyer belt only to shove it back into bags especially where some places have unfriendly packing area. as for theft, happens everywhere not just in self service at the supermarket, so get over it don’t use them if you get all snotty about them leave them for us to enjoy.!
I still like good old fashioned service and human interaction. No self service check-outs for me!
The Coles where I shop usually has all checkouts closed and barricaded to actively force shoppers to use the self serve checkouts. If I am doing my weekly shop with a large number of items I ask a staff member politely to open a checkout for me. Invariably people start queueing behind me with their trolleys. I don’t mind self serve checkouts if I only have a few items. They have been an improvement to service in Aldi as it speeds up the checkout experience when I shop there for just a few items. Every business exists to make a profit which is fine as long as the customers are respected and provided with an experience that is not annoying.
I love self Service. I pack the groceries the way I want and I don’t have to stand in a queue behind people who just want to chat to the cashier
There are not less staff there are actually more now extra staff have been put on to fill the delivery orders and the click and collect orders
I’m happy now that my local Aldi has self Service installed recently
Good to see them go. More staff employed to work at checkouts is also a good thing. Why should I do an employee’s work without getting any benefits like a discount? I have NEVER used a self-checkout and never will.