Target enforcing controversial self-checkout policy across all US state stores starting this week after ‘successful’ pilot – The US Sun

SHOPPERS at Target stores in Massachusetts will soon notice a significant change in their self-checkout experience.

The retail giant announced it will implement a 10-item limit in self-checkout lanes at all 45 locations across the state following a successful pilot program.

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The pilot program, which was tested in about 200 stores last fall, proved to be nearly twice the speed of self-checkout transactions, Harper-Tibaldo said. The telegraph.

These results led Target to permanently expand the initiative throughout Massachusetts.

In a statement to USA Today New England, Target outlined the main changes to the new policy:

• Express self-checkout: Customers with 10 items or less can use the self-checkout lanes.
• Increase in traditional lanes: More traditional checkouts, staffed by team members, will be available for customers with larger quantities of items.
• Flexible hours: Store leaders have the power to adjust self-checkout hours and the number of staffed checkout lines based on demand.

Harper-Tibaldo explained that self-checkout gained great popularity during the pandemic as a preferred option for many customers looking to avoid contact with other people.

The objective of the new policy, according to Harper-Tibaldo, is to improve the shopping experience, making the self-checkout process faster, smoother and more pleasant.

But while the new policy aims to improve efficiency, it has received mixed reactions from customers.

Some have expressed frustrations on social media about the limits, especially when there are few lanes open with staff, leading to longer wait times for those with just more than 10 items.

Target regular Cheyenne Walker complained on Facebook about the chain’s self-checkout limitations, saying she was yelled at after bringing in too many items.

“I usually don’t let things like this bother me too much,” Walker said. publish to read.

“But the lady who works at Target scolded me for using self-checkout because it’s ’10 or less’ and I had THIRTEEN items,” she continued.

“I didn’t have a big old cart, I had small items that took me two seconds to scan.”

Her post also included a screenshot of the 13 items she purchased, all small foods.

“These stores need to relax!” commented another user, Lauren Johnson.

“They can have more staff to scan for you if they want to complain about self-checkout.”

And it looks like Target is planning to do just that, as part of the new initiative is to open more traditional avenues with team members at every store in the state.

But adding to Target’s self-checkout controversy, Target’s corporate profits soared.

Target’s 2023 profits were up about $2 billion compared with the previous year, even with a nearly 2% drop in sales.

In May, Target also announced it would reduce prices on more than 5,000 items in stores, a move it attributed to the slight decline in sales.

However, some customers remain skeptical, viewing price reductions as an admission of price increases.

One social media user posted: “Alternative headline: Target confesses it brazenly defrauded millions of consumers, no penalties expected.”

And as the retail landscape continues to evolve, Target’s approach to increasing efficiency while managing its security challenges will be closely watched by customers and industry analysts in the coming years.