North Spokane Walmart not sold on self-checkout

Self-service checkout stations at retail and grocery stores have grown to be staples of the shopping experience. But times are changing.

Target, WinCo and Walmart have removed self-checkout registers at a number of locations across the country to make way for the conventional process that requires the assistance of a cashier.

Shoplifting is partly to blame.

Removing self-checkouts are occurring at select Walmart locations that have high rates of what the company calls “lost merchandise,” John Furner, president and CEO of the United States-based Walmart corporation, told ABC News in April.

Cities affected so far include Los Angeles, St. Louis, Albuquerque and now Spokane.

Permits submitted to the city of Spokane earlier this month show Walmart officials are planning to remove about 20 self-checkout terminals from its store at the North Division Y, 9212 N. Colton St.

When the $85,000 remodel is complete, it will leave just four stations where customers may scan and bag their own Walmart merchandise.

Employee-manned checkout stations, will increase in quantity from 12 to 30, plans show.

Additionally, the new stations will feature a more compact design than those previous, with a shorter conveyor belt and a smaller countertop to bag goods.

Several bagging stations featuring the new design have already been implemented at the location.

According to Kelsey Bohl, director of corporate communications for Walmart, the remodel will be an improvement.

“These decisions are based on several factors, including feedback from associates and customers, shopping patterns and business needs in the area,” Bohl said in an email. “We believe the changes will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service.”

The sentiment mirrors that of Jon Basalone, president and vice CEO of Trader Joe’s, which has never implemented self-checkout registers.

“We believe in people,” Basolone said during a podcast produced by the grocer. “We’re not trying to get rid of our crew members for efficiency’s sake or whatever the reasons people put self-checkouts in.”

When the first self-checkout machines were introduced at Kroger stores in Atlanta in 1986, a Los Angeles Times article described them as a “revolution” for the supermarket industry.

Decades later, customers still prefer a conventional checkout station, according to a study by NCR Voyix, a manufacturer of self-checkout terminals. NCR found that only 43% of shoppers would opt for self-checkout stations.

In Spokane-area Walmart stores, self-checkouts are much more common than conventional registers.

The Walmart on Broadway Avenue in Spokane Valley has almost 30 self-service registers compared to 12 conventional checkouts. Another Spokane Valley location has over 20 self-checkouts compared to eight conventional checkouts. A Walmart in the Shadle Park area has eight conventional checkouts compared to 30 self-checkouts.

Self-checkouts are estimated to save retailers up to 18% in labor costs every year, but retailers have also reported between a 33% and 60% increase in stolen goods after installing them, according to ECR Retail Loss, a nonprofit retail researcher.

According to the National Retail Federation, unaccounted -for merchandise led to $112.1 billion in losses in 2023, up from $93.9 billion in 2022.

In Spokane County, shoplifting crimes increased 22% from last year, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

But it seems self-checkout machines are not going anywhere.

In 2023, roughly 217,000 self-checkout registers were installed, more than any other year, according to market researcher, Datos Insights.