SELF-CHECKOUT is a divisive topic among shoppers, and Target’s latest registry change has only increased the divide.
Target imposed a limit of ten items or fewer for self-checkout earlier this year.
The retailer tested the limit in 200 stores and found that self-checkout was twice as fast for shoppers.
Target also promised to open more traditional staffed lanes for customers with larger hauls.
But that’s not the experience customers had.
“Hey Target, if your self-checkout has ten items or less, open more than one register,” wrote Josh (@live sports) in X.
read more about self-checkout
“I’ve been waiting to check out for an hour. I’m done with this matter.”
This was also not an isolated incident.
“Target is about to lose a customer. How are you going to self-checkout ten or fewer items and then only have one cash register open…every time,” asked Kristie (@KristieExlee) in X.
Customers have also argued that the limit makes their shopping trips longer than necessary.
“A five-minute ride has now turned into 25 because there are only two lanes open and the lines are in the women’s lane,” said a Target customer posted in X.
Despite the backlash, Target has not announced plans to change the rule.
CASH CONFUSION
Walmart imitated Target’s rule by imposing a 15 items or fewer rule for self-checkout.
The store faced similar fallout from customers who blamed the rule for long lines.
“Walmart, you guys suck for having a 15 item self-checkout limit,” wrote Joyce (@joycelou71) in X.
“I was already able to check off my 18 items before the lady in front of me even unloaded her cart onto the conveyor belt!”
Shoppers said Walmart has the same problem as Target: There aren’t enough traditional cash registers open for everyone buying more than 15 items.
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 US.
Shoppers also identified their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
“What sense does it make to change self-checkout lanes to 15 items or less, but then only have two or three registers open? Make sense!” they (@ill-tempered_la) he wrote.
“Don’t worry about how many items I have when you see these log lines!”
Customer Kris Robyn was waiting in line to check out when an employee approached and counted the items in her cart.
She was kicked out of the queue because she had 18 items and was informed that she would have to do a traditional registration.
“I knew I was being tested by the devil. I started leaving everything in the cart [and] leave and go straight to Target,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
Several Target shoppers abandoned full carts when they saw long lines at their store and accused the company of understaffing.
Meanwhile, Walmart shoppers are begging the store to adjust its checkout policy.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25572450/080124_HP_OmniBook_X_ADiBenedetto_0002.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1 "HP OmniBook X 14 review: A business laptop by any other name")
