Why self-checkout has been an inconvenient 'failure' for both shoppers and stores

Self-checkout kiosks became increasingly common in stores in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and retailers hailed them as a major convenience for shoppers.

But journalist Amanda Mull, in a biting article published by The Atlantic on October 19, stresses that self-checkout has turned out be the polar opposite of "convenient." Self-checkout, according to Mull, has been a headache for consumers as well as stores.

Mull recalls that in the past, the argument for self-checkout was "scan your stuff, plunk it in a bag, and you're done. Long checkout lines would disappear."

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But the journalist adds that the reality of self-checkout has been much different.

"You still have to wait in line," Mull laments. "The checkout kiosks bleat and flash when you fail to set a purchase down in the right spot. Scanning those items is sometimes a crapshoot — wave a barcode too vigorously in front of an uncooperative machine, and suddenly, you've scanned it two or three times. Then, you need to locate the usually lone employee charged with supervising all of the finicky kiosks, who will radiate exasperation at you while scanning her ID badge and tapping the kiosk's touch screen from pure muscle memory."

Mull adds, "If you want to buy something that even might carry some kind of arbitrary purchase restriction — not just obvious things such as alcohol, but also, products as seemingly innocuous as a generic antihistamine — well, maybe don't do that."

Self-checkout, according to Mull, has not only been a hassle for shoppers — it has been expensive for retailers, as "the average four-kiosk setup runs around $125,000." And when stores cut their staffs, she notes, theft became more common.

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Some retailers, Mull reports, realize that self-checkout has problems and are cutting back on it — or at least making adjustments.

"Costco is stationing more staffers in its self-checkout areas," Mull reports. "ShopRite is adding cashiers back into stores where it had trialed a self-checkout-only model, citing customer backlash. None of this is an indication that self-checkout is over, exactly. But several decades in, the kiosks as Americans have long known them are beginning to look like a failure."

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Amanda Mull's full report for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).