Part 10/12:
Concerns about theft at self-checkout stations have also surfaced as significant downsides of this technology. Retailers such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree have faced surging shoplifting incidents following the reduction of staffed checkout areas. Without dedicated cashiers supervising transactions, opportunistic theft has risen sharply, resulting in both monetary losses and a need to reevaluate self-checkout systems.
As stores band together to confront rising theft rates, many have decided against self-checkout, opting instead to hire additional staff to monitor transactions and deter theft. This pivot highlights the inability of self-checkout systems to deliver the savings that companies had projected.