Stores are reversing course on self-checkout. The internet reveals clues as to why

Stores are cutting back on self-checkout lines – and shoppers aren’t mad about it.

Around a third of 340 small and midsize retail operators (36 percent) said they used self-checkout this year – down from 43 percent in 2025, according to an April survey from Toast, a point-of-sale and restaurant management platform.

The rethink on self-checkout comes even as three-quarters of the group of convenience stores, grocery stores and bottle shops polled said they would continue investing heavily in other technology, including, of course, AI.

While retailers pointed to self-checkout problems with efficiency and theft, social media is also awash in shoppers airing their frustrations, from having to scan and bag their own purchases – tasks traditionally handled by employees – to being subjected to loud and sometimes embarrassing prompts from machines.

One infuriated X user posted Wednesday about going through self-checkout, only then to be stopped by an employee who asked to see his receipt.

“I handed it to him, but I’m standing there thinking… wait a minute. You trusted me enough to do the cashier’s job, but now you need to check my work before I can leave? If you don’t trust customers to scan their own stuff, maybe don’t make self-checkout half the store,” he fumed.

“I’m not mad at the employee. He’s just doing his job. But somebody needs to explain how I became the cashier and the suspect at the same time.”

Others on social media complained about feeling watched by store employees or surveillance cameras while using self-checkout.

“I hate when Target and Walmart employees stand there watching me at self-checkout,” one user wrote.

“Like b*****, you can do this s*** yourself! Why am I doing YOUR job while YOU watch me scan my own groceries and take my money?” another X user wrote.

There is little data on whether shoppers overall prefer self-checkout or a human cashier. One common perk of self-checkout is avoiding interaction with other people, particularly after a long day or when not in the mood to chat. But for others, that lack of human interaction is exactly the problem.

“There’s nothing wrong with self-checkouts. Some of us don’t like waiting in line like cattle when we just want 2 or 3 items,” one user wrote Wednesday. “Many employees would like the opportunity to be productive in other ways than just zombie scanning consumers all day. Having both as an option is best.”

A popular argument for traditional cashier roles is letting humans keep their jobs instead of losing them to machines or robots.

“They installed self-checkout in my local Publix a few months ago and I refuse to use them. I will wait in line to have a human do the job. You know why? Those cashiers’ hours are based on how productive their lines are, so to speak,” another X user said Tuesday. “If you can help show the store that those lines are still needed, those sweet old ladies get to keep their jobs.”

Retailers have reported increasing losses from self-checkout.

A June report from ECR Retail Loss, a retailer-backed research group, found that grocery stores experienced an average 22 percent increase in merchandise losses in the year after installing self-checkout. Those losses include both theft and accidental errors, such as missed scans and incorrect product selections.

Grocery stores with self-checkout had average losses that were 33 percent higher than stores without it, according to the report.

In 2024, some major retailers began limiting the number of items customers could bring to self-checkout – with Target setting a 10-item limit nationwide and Walmart testing a 15-item limit at some stores. Supermarket chain Schnucks limited self-checkout to shoppers with 10 items or fewer.

Other retailers have scaled back self-checkout over concerns about “shrink,” a metric that includes theft but also accidental errors, damaged merchandise and other inventory discrepancies. Dollar General removed self-checkout from about 12,000 stores in 2024, while Five Below also reduced its use of the technology that year.

Some local communities took their own steps. In Long Beach, California, a 2025 ordinance required stores that offered self-checkout to limit the lanes to 15 items and maintain at least one staffed checkout lane.

Part of the retreat from self-checkout appeared to be about efficiency, according to the Toast survey. Some 31 percent of operators listed simplifying operations among their top three business goals, up 12 percentage points from the previous year.

A quarter of respondents cited the use of new technology. Retailers are investing in technology that can reduce manual work and give them more control over prices and orders. Digital shelf labels make price changes faster and easier, while order-ready boards help streamline the process of preparing and handing out orders.

Electronic shelf labels rose 11 percentage points year-over-year, while the use of order-ready boards increased 9 points, the survey found.

Retailers are increasingly experimenting with AI in large numbers – with 88 percent of those polled saying they believe the technology will make their businesses more efficient.