Retailers across the U.S. spent years expanding self-checkout as labor costs rose and in-store technology improved. In 2024, that strategy started facing more open pushback as major chains and new survey data showed many shoppers think the machines have made routine trips slower or more frustrating. The shift is now visible at big grocery and general merchandise stores, where companies are changing lane policies and adding more staffed checkout options.
Retailers are pulling back after years of expansion
Walmart, Target, and Dollar General have all adjusted parts of their self-checkout strategy over the past year, based on company statements and store-level changes reported in 2024. Walmart confirmed in March 2024 that some stores were limiting or removing self-checkout, while Target said it would roll out Express Self-Checkout for baskets of 10 items or fewer starting March 17, 2024, at most locations nationwide.
Dollar General said in its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings materials that it was converting some self-checkout lanes to assisted checkout to reduce shrink, the retail term for inventory loss. Booths, a U.K. grocer often cited in U.S. industry coverage, also drew attention in 2023 after removing self-checkout from most of its stores, saying customers preferred staffed lanes. The broad scale is clear even if each chain is handling the change differently.
Surveys also show why the issue is getting attention. A 2024 LendingTree survey found 67% of Americans said they had experienced problems with self-checkout, including unexpected item alerts and scanning errors. A 2023 study by Drexel University researchers also found many consumers associated self-checkout with higher stress and a greater chance of mistakes.
What shoppers are seeing in stores right now
The biggest confirmed change for customers is not a full end to self-checkout, but tighter rules and more employee oversight. Target said its 10-items-or-fewer policy was designed to improve speed and reduce wait times, while many Walmart stores have added workers near self-checkout banks to check receipts, unlock age-restricted purchases, or redirect shoppers to staffed lanes.
What is not yet known is how many U.S. locations will ultimately remove machines altogether. Walmart has not released a comprehensive national list of stores where self-checkout has been reduced, and Target’s policy still leaves self-checkout available in most stores for smaller purchases. That means the experience can vary sharply from one city to another, even within the same chain.
For shoppers, the practical impact is often a tradeoff between convenience and friction. A customer with five items may still move quickly through a self-checkout lane, but larger orders can trigger weight-sensor warnings, ID checks, or employee interventions that slow the process. Those delays have become part of the reason some chains now say staffed lanes are a better fit for certain trips.
Why companies are rethinking the model
Retailers originally expanded self-checkout in the 2010s and early 2020s as they looked for ways to manage labor costs and speed up front-end traffic. But several companies now say shrink has become a central concern. During its earnings discussions in 2024, Dollar General linked changes to self-checkout directly to theft and inventory controls, and Target has also cited retail crime and operational efficiency in broader store-policy updates.
Customer frustration is another factor supported by recent polling. In a 2024 survey from consumer research firm Raydiant, 49% of respondents said they preferred cashier checkout over self-checkout, and many cited technical issues and lack of human help. That matters because retailers introduced the machines as a convenience feature, not as an extra task for shoppers.
For now, customers should expect a mixed model rather than a nationwide rollback. Major chains are still keeping self-checkout in many stores, but with stricter limits, more monitoring, and more staffed options than in prior years. The direction of travel is clearer than the final outcome: in 2024, large retailers publicly signaled that self-checkout is no longer being treated as a one-size-fits-all solution.
