In an effort to curb theft and protect jobs, self-checkout limits are being imposed across the country.
In New York City, councilmember Amanda Farías recently introduced a bill that would impose a 15-item limit for shoppers using the self-checkout lanes in NYC supermarkets and pharmacies, including Costco, and require stores to assign at least one employee to every three of those lanes, or face daily fines of at least $100.
“We’ve seen the consequences of removing workers from these spaces: increased retail theft, less oversight, fewer protections for both workers and customers, and generally decreased safety,” said Councilwoman Amanda Farias (D-Bronx) while introducing the legislation last month.
Other states are enforcing similar self-checkout regulations.
In Rhode Island, a grocery store can have no more than eight self-checkout lanes operating at any given time. The Ocean State also requires that one worker be assigned to every two self-checkout kiosks.
Massachusetts has identical limits and staffing requirements.
Rhode Island is also considering regulations that would cap self-checkout kiosks at 6 per store and require retailers to maintain a traditional checkout lane for every 2 self-checkouts.
Long Beach, California, has enacted a “Safe Stores are Staffed Stores” ordinance that limits self-checkout to 15 items and requires stores to staff at least one employee per three self-checkout lanes.
Proponents of the self-checkout crackdown believe these regulations reduce theft, safeguard jobs, and improve customer experience, while self-scan devotees argue the rules restrict convenience and choice.
In response, Walmart has made self-checkout lanes exclusively available to Walmart+ members.
Earlier this year, ahead of the new legislation, Costco removed many self-checkout lanes across its 643 US locations in an attempt to phase out or severely restrict the feature.
Earlier this month, Costco began testing a new checkout system that is supposed to take just 8 seconds and accelerate throughput while reducing errors.
While you’re in line at checkout, a Costco staff member will come to your cart and scan all the items. Once you reach the register, you’ll scan your membership card, and all of the scanned items will load on the screen. All you have to do at that point is pay.
Reviews thus far have been mixed.
When it comes to self-checkout theft, the driving force behind these changes, the haves are more likely to steal than the have-nots.
Last year, a survey revealed that Americans living in households earning more than $100,000 a year are twice as likely as those living in poverty to steal from self-checkouts.
A sizable 40% of six-figure earners admitted to deliberately not scanning an item at a store, according to a recent LendingTree report — more than double the 17% of people making $30,000 and under who say they have done the same thing.
Meanwhile, 27% of people in households earning between $50,000 and $99,999 reported that they had purposefully taken something without scanning it.
The survey also broke down the stats by sex, with men far more likely to steal at the self-checkout than women (38% vs 16%).
