‘I put my basket down and walked out,’ smoke target shoppers after self-checkout rule change is causing longer queues

TARGET experienced strong backlash from shoppers after designating self-checkout for customers with just 10 items or less.

The policy was enacted late last year and was intended to curb long lines at Target.

A pilot test found that checkout was twice as fast in stores with item limits, but customers had a different experience.

“So Target, if you’re self-checking out 10 items or less, you’re going to have to open up more lanes,” he wrote a buyer on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“One or two tracks are not enough.

“I actively no longer go to Target because of this. It’s actually saved me money.”

Target apologized, but several customers repeated the complaint.

Another shopper shared photos of a checkout line that appeared to snake throughout the store while the self-service checkouts were cordoned off.

“This is what Target looks like at 8 p.m. because the store doesn’t want to run its self-checkout registers,” they he wrote in X.

“Okay, I put my basket down and left. Target no longer needs my business.”

One person responded that they stopped shopping at Target because of the policy.

“I did the same thing last December when they didn’t have human cashiers and the line to work at Target’s self-checkout was 30 people long,” they added.

“I’m not in line to do their job.”

TOTAL RECALL

A Target location has removed all of its self-checkout kiosks, citing an increase in theft as the reason.

The store is in Emeryville, California, and is the only one in the East Bay area.

There are no official numbers available for theft at the specific location, but Target reported an overall increase of 120% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year.

What is Target Circle 360?

In April, Target launched its first paid membership program, Target Circle 360.

For $99 per year ($49 if you sign up before May 18), members have access to the following perks:

• Unlimited, free same-day delivery on orders over $35
• Another 30 days to return your items
• Free two-day shipping on 100,000 items
• 5% discount in store and online
• Automatic offers and exclusive benefits for partners

Buyers were not happy with the news.

“The goal is: we want the checkout experience to be four times longer,” one user responded to the ad on X.

“We all know very well that there will still only be a single cash register open anyway,” added other.

“We will still only have two boxes open at peak times,” he wrote a third buyer.

Some Target shoppers were even kicked out of the self-checkout line while trying to pay for their purchases.

The chain is trying to win back customers by adding thousands of new products and offering price reductions.