Self-checkouts are nothing new, they have been around for a couple of years now. You can find them in grocery stores, hardware stores, even McDonald’s has the option to use a self-checkout instead of a traditional cashier. A Walmart store is starting to switch to a self-checkout store only.
via shutterstock
Walmart Self-Checkout
Fayetteville, Arkansas is doing a new test for its Walmart. They will only be having self-checkouts at their store, no cashiers. This is a new experiment for them to see what works better.
If all goes well and the test is successful, then Walmart will do the same thing in more locations and across the country.
While they did not have a set date in place for these to take effect, it could happen sooner rather than later. These new decisions will also depend on many different things.
One factor is feedback from their employees as well as the customers. The main concern is Walmart just wants to do things that are easiest for both their employees and their customers.
Why the Change
Some people wonder why the need for a change and if it will help employees or just make things worse.
One of the main reasons for this change is self-checkout is very cost-efficient. Having a customer do the same work you would normally pay an employee does save the company a lot of money.
One report found that checking someone into their flight at the airport with a cashier costs around $3 dollars. If the customer checks themselves in, it only costs about 14 cents, which is a significant difference.
Another positive is the privacy that customers get when they buy things. If someone gets a personal item or something they might be embarrassed to get, having the self-checkout allows them to keep their purchases private.
Negatives of Self-Checkouts
A lot of customers actually are against self-checkouts. They feel that they are doing all the work and not getting paid for it.
Others find the machine to be difficult to use and cause more problems and takes up more time. Especially the older people who don’t use technology too often may have more problems with the self-checkouts than others.
Oftentimes customers have to ask the employees for help, which is basically like having a cashier anyway. With there being only one or two employees around to help a dozen or more self-checkout stations, it could end up taking more time on customers to get the things they need.
One other negative is that it does put workers out of a job. With the way the economy is going, we need more jobs open for people to live in this world.
With the way things are going, Walmart may be the first to change out cashiers for a self-checkout only system. Which way do you prefer?
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377 comments on “Walmart Store Switches to Self-Checkout Only”
I use self checkout all the time because it’s usually quicker because their is less people in self checkout which is what I like I don’t like being crowded by people, downfall on that is if you scan to fast the machine locks up and need an employee to fix it, or if you’re buying certain things that you need to be 18 or older to buy you need an employee to come approve it Everytime and usually have to wait 5 10 minutes for an employee to help you
I would rather keep things the way they are. The human touch is very important l think. Also I this economy we need all the jobs can get.
cashiers are preferred. It takes way to long to do self-checkout, and I always end up having to call for help. They may want to be cheap, but in the end, they will end up hiring more people back as the self-checkout lines get really long
If I’m just running in to get a couple of things self check out is fine but the majority of the time I would prefer being checked out by a cashier
What about buying alcohol?
I would rather have the cashiers.Â
I prefer to have a cashier
I admit to using them on rare occasion however that is only when I’m just running in the store for one thing and running right back out otherwise I want a cashier
i think this is a good idea because not every cash register is open at my walmart. it can be slammed in there and only 5 registers will be open. if you have self check out only then that means all registers will be opened and people can get done faster instead of waiting in 5 lines with 30 people standing in each line! Â
Actually, my Walmart only uses a third of the self-checkout stands at a time.
Cashiers