One Walmart Supercentre in Ontario is rolling back on its self-checkout kiosks after an alleged rise in theft at the store.
Shoppers at the Walmart, located at the Billings Bridge Shopping Centre in Ottawa, recently noticed that the store ditched its self-checkout lanes, with employees ringing people through the area instead.
According to one Reddit user who inquired staff about the change, the move was made “due to theft” at the store and at “the request of corporate.”
The location also informed customers about the change in a sign posted near the checkout line.
“We are pleased to announce the test of the full-serve experience starting Saturday, July 29. During this test, our associates will be available to scan all items including those being processed in the area known as our self-checkout,” the sign reads.
“We look forward to interacting with you on a more one-on-one basis. We appreciate your patience and understanding during the operation of this test.”
With the rise of self-checkout lanes in nearly every big-box retailer, reports of random receipt checks by security guards have only increased in an effort to curb theft.
However, the expanding practice has led to backlash from some shoppers who maintain that not everyone who uses self-checkout intends to steal, with most people resorting to the kiosks out of convenience.
“I, for one, like the self-checkouts. Very convenient when only grabbing a few things and saves me from interacting with people,” a reply to the Reddit thread reads.
“The self-checkout is always faster and more convenient when you’re only buying a few items and there’s never usually a lineup,” another person said.
“So why don’t they just reopen the regular checkout lines? Sounds like a stupid system. Canadian Tire had self-checkouts for about six months and then quickly got rid of them because they knew it was easy to steal,” one person wrote.
blogTO reached out to Walmart for comment on the situation but did not receive word back in time for this publication.
It remains unclear if Walmart intends to keep this “full-service experience” permanent at its Billing’s Bridge location or if it has plans to introduce it in the rest of its stores in Ontario.
Source/ Daily Hive
