In theory, the premise of self-checkout is a beautiful one. Less time spent on an unnecessary interaction. Less money spent paying unnecessary employees. And self-checkout seems to be working. According to the Food Industry Association, an estimated 44 percent of transactions at grocery stores took place in self-checkout lanes last year, up from 29 percent in 2022.
Self-checkout is the most common instance where human interaction is taken out of the equation in everyday experiences. Cashiers have become iPad screens with laggy displays; waiters have become no-contact delivery apps. Self-checkout is only the latest of a series of technological advances determined to make us more dependent on these developments and less dependent on each other.
In many ways, self-checkout falls perfectly in line with increasingly digital and modernized facilities — a trend with which many take issue. Technical problems abound with self-checkout systems; “unexpected item in the bagging area” is a common refrain in CVS, and according to a 2021 survey by the Food Industry Association, 67 percent of shoppers said they had experienced problems with self-checkout. This is in contrast with the often seamless experience that is checking out with a human cashier, as transactions rarely have communication or technical errors.
The rise of self-checkout has also been associated with higher rates of theft. For the chain store Dollar General, they plan to remove self-checkout entirely from 300 stores; the self-checkout technology will be overseen by workers at the remaining 9000 stores. Similarly, in a nationwide shift, Target plans to limit self-checkout to shoppers with 10 or less items. In addition, they will open more cash registers run by people, according to Nation Public Radio (NPR). Despite self-checkout’s prevalence, 43 percent of Americans support the removal of self-checkouts from retail stores, according to a 2024 survey by Redfield and Wilton.
Along with the technical downsides of self-checkout, there’s a more personal element to the debate as well, as public spaces have become more clinical and less personal. Take a TikTok trend from a few months ago, mourning the restaurant interiors of our childhoods. Slideshows of the 2000s Panera interior, featuring warm lighting and bad camera quality, celebrated what seems to be a bygone day of more unique public spaces. Maybe some of this trend can be chalked up to pure nostalgia. But there is also the fact that the rise of technology and an accompanying isolation can lead us to look to short-form content to invoke an emotion that has long passed us by.
Indeed, Panera’s modern transformation — which began in 2013, under the moniker of “Panera 2.0” — is only one instance of the broader trend of more technological and modern aesthetics that leave more personalized interior spaces in the dust. Similarly, McDonald’s “Experience of the Future,” established in 2019, introduced such staples of the contemporary restaurant experience as curbside pickup, resulting in less human interactions, and less colorful interiors.
It’s also important to consider how the rise of self-checkout and of less personal public spaces occurs as the United States experiences what has been deemed a “loneliness epidemic.” Even before COVID-19, about half of United States adults reported measurable levels of loneliness, and today, 30 percent of American adults say they have experienced loneliness at least once per week over the past year, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
It makes sense, then, that the promise of a more “personalized” shopping experience is seen as so valuable. This is visible with Trader Joe’s popularity; its trademark charismatic cashiers and its notable lack of self-checkout e
ach play a part in this equation. In a Trader Joe’s podcast, CEO Bryan Palbaum discussed the frequent misconception that cashiers are flirting with customers.
“We have such a unique environment in our stores that to go into a Trader Joe’s and feel that everyone is genuinely interested in whether or not you are having a good day,” Palbaum said. “I could see how that might be misinterpreted.”
Similarly, according to a study by Drexel University, normal checkout — with a human cashier — makes customers more loyal to a store and more likely to revisit it in the future. There is, then, a real appetite for human interaction in everyday life. Even as technology advances, it’s valuable to recognize how much a human cashier can play a role in a consumer’s experience.
We can’t stop the spread of technology such as self-checkout, especially if it improves efficiency and makes our lives easier. To improve the current self-checkout situation, there are measures that are being taken to reduce the technology’s harm. Senate Bill 1446, currently on the table in California, aims to place certain restrictions on self-checkout. It attempts to place regulations on the number of machines that employees can monitor at a time, limit the number of items that can be bought via self-checkout, and prevent customers from buying restricted items. Self-checkout, then, can be improved for the better to limit the amount of theft and technical issues that currently plague the technology — and still remember the role of the human in everyday life.
Similarly, it is crucial to recognize the role of the consumer in this equation. Yes, it will almost always be easier to interact with a screen than with another person. But we can decide how we interact with this technology. While self-checkout may remain a staple, or may leave the retail sphere for good, it is up to us to decide the role that this technology will play in our lives. It is up to us to decide whether or not we let it detract from our shopping — and human — experiences.
