WALMART lost $300 to an irate shopper who discarded his full cart due to lack of staff.
The man left the local store because his cart was too big for self-checkout.
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“We needed #LARain emergency supplies and the only place with them was @Walmart which we hate,” Go said on X/Twitter.
“We had a $300+ cart, too big for self-checkout, but just an overloaded cashier.
“We left; they lost money. Don’t believe the retail theft story these corporate owners try to spin!”
It’s unclear which Walmart store Will was visiting when he abandoned his full cart in the store.
But US Sun has reached out to the retailer for comment on its complaint.
Walmart said on July 23 that it was “entering a new era of shopping – adaptive retail.”
“Retailers must anticipate shoppers’ needs, reduce decision-making and enable highly personal experiences,” said Suresh Kumar, chief development officer at declaration.
PLASTIC BAG FLU
However, the push for greater use of AI is not making the shopping experience easier for some customers.
There are still numerous complaints on social media about long queues and an apparent lack of staff to help customers, especially at peak times.
Another Walmart customer, Carolcomplained on Facebook last month about a problem he had with plastic bags at his local store in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
“Attention Walmart shoppers, if you go to the Walmart on Highway 98 in Hattiesburg tonight [sic] and use self-checkout, you will have plastic bags to put your purchases in,” she wrote on July 18.
“If you use a Walmart associate to check out, bring your own bags because they don’t have any.
“And I was told they weren’t allowed to go to the self-checkout counter and get anyone to use in their line.”
Carol said she ended up collecting extra plastic bags for the young cashier where she was checking out, for other customers to use as needed.
“Maybe they don’t want the people checking us in to have bags so we can use self-checkout,” she added.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at several locations were made available only to Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed at specific times and more cashiers were offered in its place.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting would fuel the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would thwart fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, this test has been discontinued.
At Target, items are being limited in auto-checkout.
Last fall, the brand researched new express self-checkout lanes in 200 stores with 10 items or less for added convenience.
In March 2024, this policy was expanded to 2,000 stores in the U.S.
“If that is the case, I will gladly go to another store. My apologies for the rant.
Others have also complained on social media about pressure from shoppers to use self-checkout lanes, with limited staff in control when things go wrong.
CHRONIC STAFF SHORTAGE
Facebook user John complained that he left his branch despite completing his shopping, because of the lack of staff in the store.
“I went to Wal-Mart one day and I had $45 or $50 worth of groceries in my cart,” he said.
“Get to the checkout lines and there was NOT a living person working ANY of these.
“I left my cart and shopping in lane 2 and went to another store. I will NOT use self check-outs!”
But it’s not just Walmart that’s being hit by complaints about self-checkouts and low staffing levels.
And among the retailers listening to the problems is Dollar General — which hit the reverse button at self-checkout stations.
CEO Todd Vasos announced the removal of self-checkout in May.
He said self-checkout would be removed “from the vast majority of stores.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
