Should Target Be Limiting Self-Checkout Hours?

Target is limiting access to self-checkout terminals in some locations as part of efforts to reduce shrink while directing more customers to cashiered terminals.

Self-checkout lanes in select stores are open from 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. according to an r/Target Reddit thread. Regular business hours at most Target stores are from 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Target employees’ thread also noted that some stores are keeping a limited number of self-checkout stations open during non-peak times mid-week while keeping all open over the busy weekends.

Comments in the thread ran largely negative to the development, with many Target employees fretting about long lines with fewer checkout lanes being open amid understaffing challenges.

Employees told Business Insider that Target is looking to limit the number of self-checkouts in part to reduce shrink, both from shoplifting and “partial shrink,” or when a customer deliberately misidentifies items, such as keying in a cheaper code for the fruit and vegetable they’re purchasing.

A survey from LendingTree found 15% of self-checkout users have purposely stolen an item — including 31% of Gen Zers and 21% of millennials — and 44% of self-checkout thieves plan to do it again.

However, the Business Insider article also indicated that the shift to downplay self-checkout is also designed to steer shoppers to staffed checkout lanes that also offer opportunities to promote the Target Red credit card, a priority for the chain.

Last fall, Target began restricting self-checkout to customers buying 10 or fewer items at some locations in a test designed to shorten wait times and "better understand" shopper preferences.

"Our guests tell us they enjoy interacting with our team," Target COO John Mulligan said on a quarterly call with analysts last November. The company has "refocused" its checkout areas and has since seen a 6% increase in customers using full-service cashier lanes across its stores.

Self-checkout stations have become prevalent across the grocery channel to help retailers reduce labor costs and speed checkout for shoppers. RBR Data Services’ Global EPOS and Self-Checkout 2023 study forecasts 450,000 self-checkout installations in the U.S. by 2028, up from 280,000 in 2022. A report from FMI still found only 30% of grocery transactions are processed through self-checkout.

Retailers appear to be rethinking self-checkout, with Walmart, Costco, ShopRite, Five Below, and Dollar General among those either removing and reducing self-checkout stations, adding staff to assist at self-checkouts, or emphasizing cashiered stations.

Yet surveys show many shoppers prefer self-checkout. According to a recent survey of U.S. consumers by NCR VOYIX, 45% of shoppers (53% of Gen Z and millennials) prefer self-checkout over traditional manned registers. The top five reasons were the technology’s speed, the ability to bag your own items, shorter lines, privacy, and avoiding interaction with cashiers.