WALMART customers have repeatedly complained about the expansion of self-checkout at the store.
Walmart shoppers have even abandoned full carts rather than use self-checkout.
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Like many others in the industry, the store has added more self-checkout registers despite customer backlash.
"I won't do self-checkout, I make them do it," wrote one customer on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I walked off and left a cart full of stuff one time because a very hateful employee at Walmart refused to do it."
Another customer said the long checkout lines pushed her to stop shopping at Walmart altogether.
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"Yeah, Walmart. I needed just one more reason to stop shopping here, and this seals the deal," they captioned a photo of themselves at the end of a long line.
"So apparently, only Walmart Plus members can use the self-checkout now. Sorry, Target, for cheating on you."
Walmart Plusis the retailer's $98-a-year subscription service meant to rival Amazon Prime.
Recently, some Walmart locations started limiting self-checkout lanes to Walmart Plus subscribers and Spark Delivery drivers.
Subscribers can use the Scan and Go option in the lanes, which allows them to scan items as they shop and pay for them all at once.
So let me get this right. You want me to pay a subscription to check myself out?" another shopper wrote on Facebook.
Five new Walmart store changes face backlash despite execs promises with shoppers claiming ‘it’s been a mess’
"Here I am waiting behind 20 people while there is no line at the scan-and-go register, with a cashier standing there doing nothing except guarding to make sure no one uses it except Walmart Plus people.
"But every other cash register is 10+ people deep. What a crock."
MORE CHECKOUT CHANGES
Walmart customers are weary about the store's rollout of digital price tags.
Company representatives announced that the digital shelf labels will be in all stores by 2026, as they are only in about 1,400 right now.
A pilot test at a store in Grapevine, Texas, found that the tags improved staff productivity and customer experience.
Changing price tags on shelves used to take as long as two days, but with digital tags, it can be done in minutes.
But customers think the tags are being put in place for another reason.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled 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 stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, that test run has been phased out.
At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.
"Instant price gouging,"wroteone person.
"This is just the first step in introducing a dynamic pricing model... basically, surge pricing for groceries that is basedon real-time demand and inventory levels," speculated another shopper.
Another said the tags were already in place at their store and were extremely hard to read.
"The text was so tiny that even the employee helping me could not read it, and she was about 4 inches away from the label," they wrote.
But Greg Cathey, senior vice president of transformation and innovation at Walmart, said the tagswon't lead to price surges.
"It is absolutely not going to be one hour; it is this price, and the next hour, it is not," he said during Walmart's annual shareholder meeting.
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Despite the company's constant upgrades, they recently announced a store is closing due to poor performance.
Take a look at five upcoming changes heading to Walmart aisles.
