Vanishing Self-Checkout: Louisiana, Texas May Be Losing Kiosks

Lafayette, LA (KPEL News) - We've all been to a big box store in Lafayette or any of the other towns in Louisiana and experienced the line leading to self-checkout snake around the front of the store. The kiosks now hold a prominent place in the store, and customers either applaud or bemoan their existence.

A social media post listing the reasons why people hate them has been shared and copied thousands of times. The original writer, who has not been identified, is miffed by having to stop at the entrance so a store employee can check the receipt. The post reads, in part:

You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be.
• I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you.
• If you want me to be a cashier with no training then that's your problem not mine.
• Keep employing young people and give them job opportunities.
YOU DON'T PAY ME TO SCAN MY OWN SHOPPING.
YOU DON’T GIVE ME STAFF DISCOUNT FOR WORKING FOR YOU.
Signed ......All of us

While "all of us" is certainly a broad generality, the outcry about self-checkout's very existence is loud.

On the other end of the spectrum is the people who love self-checkout for various reasons. Although the posts singing the kiosk's praises are significantly less, they typically read something like this one from a Louisiana user:

Love them or hate them, self-checkout kiosks are disappearing in Los Angeles, and stores in Texas, Illinois and other states are making major adjustments to the system.

Public dissatisfaction is only a small part of the reason for the changes. Stores like Target, Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and more are losing money because people are not scanning items in their baskets. Whether the act is intentional or not, the level of "shrink," the way stores measure retail theft, is on the rise. Major retailers lost $112 billion to theft in 2022 and that number is only increasing.

They blame self-checkout.

Business Insider reports that at least one Target in Illinois has cut back on the hours that the kiosks are open. Store hours may be 7 AM to 10 PM, but the self-checkout lanes are only open from 10 AM until 8 PM. Costco is also trying it.

In Dallas, one Kroger has eliminated the self-check kiosks and replaced them with more human cashiers.

A Walmart in Albuquerque, New Mexico has shut down self-checkout.

The changes began within the last few months, so it's conceivable that Louisiana and Texas could see self-checkout disappear or serious adjustments to its availability.

Some stores are working on more stringent controls to prevent customer error or outright shoplifting, but who wants to deal with a delay every time a machine "thinks" you're stealing.

Grocery Prices 2024 since Crazy Inflation

The grocery prices have increased in price dramatically the past couple of weeks.

Gallery Credit: Rob Banks

LOOK: Here's how much grocery shopping now costs in the U.S.

The average cost of groceries for one person per month in 2023 was around $337. But how does your state compare? Do you pay more, or less? Data compiled by Zippia takes a look at the average monthly grocery bill per person in all 50 states. States are listed from least expensive to most expensive and are rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant