Grocery stores and pharmacies have been dealing with the problem of self-checkout theft for some time, and one large regional grocer is adopting a new solution to try to solve the problem.
Schnucks, a supermarket chain with more than 100 stores in the Midwest, is limiting customers who can use self-checkout to those with 10 items or fewer, according to a report from Business Insider.
The store said in a statement in the report that its main reason for the move was to improve “customer service and the efficiency of the checkout process,” but acknowledged that these self-checkout aisles are more “susceptible to theft” and that this new Policy should help with that problem.
The company also defended the move to insider information, saying self-checkout was always intended for “smaller orders.”
Self-checkout systems were supposed to be a positive cost savings for grocery stores and pharmacies looking to reduce labor costs, but in many cases, the prevalence of theft has made self-checkout even more expensive.
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Late last year, Target already implemented the same method as Schnucks in some of its stores across the country. The national supermarket also said the move was aimed at improving shopping efficiency by reducing waiting time and not curbing theft.
But the company has also reported high levels of self-checkout theft in the past.
Shrinkage, which is the term used to define lost merchandise, is made easier on these self-checkout machines as customers, whether on purpose or accidentally, fail to scan some items.
Different grocery stores have tried to adopt other security methods to reduce losses, including additional machines that measure the weight of scanned items, better surveillance and, ironically, adding more staff to these self-checkout areas.
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