
Walmart Gives Up Replacing Store Cashiers with Machines - shubidubi
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/05/16/walmart-gives-up-replacing-store-cashiers-with-machines/
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obsurveyor
I think this article is a bit misleading. According to the original
article[1], they're not getting rid of the self checkout lanes, they're
getting rid of "Mobile Scan & Go" which is using a mobile app to scan and
checkout.

[1] [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-15/-leery-
cu...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-15/-leery-customers-
prompt-walmart-to-shelve-self-scanning-service)

~~~
joezydeco
A grocery chain near me tried the mobile hand-scanner concept over a decade
ago. The trial stores quietly cancelled the program about a year later. I
asked the manager and he said the scanner-enabled stores were showing higher
theft rates.

The store had a weak mechanism in place to prevent theft (random 'audits' by
cashiers to match your cart to the receipt), but it was obvious there were way
too many ways to game the system.

Self-checkout must be doing okay. The Target I frequent just remodeled and
tripled the number of machines.

~~~
SiVal
Yes, I'm quite sure that what is happening is that a particular solution
wasn't working well, so they're discontinuing it and continuing with the
general search for better solutions.

I'm confident they're still working toward solutions that require less from
customers, not just less from employees.

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dleslie
I dislike self-checkout; it's not simply because most times I use such systems
there seems to be an issue that requires attention from a staff member, but
because there exists a human checkout line then there also exists a line that
involves less work for me.

When my kids are in tow, as is often the case at the grocer, then having
someone do the work of scanning and bagging is enormously convenient. At the
self-checkout I'm juggling the timer in the software that grows impatient when
I pause, the line-up of humans behind me that do the same, the kids I brought
with, and the process of scanning and bagging.

Even without my kids, why wouldn't I opt for the convenience of having a human
do some work for me?

~~~
janesvilleseo
My local grocery store, Woodman’s, has 4 types of checkouts. Normal full
service, 15 or less self checkout, over 15 self checkout with a conveyor, and
their newest self checkout with a conveyor but they bag and assist.

That last option is the best. It’s the quickest as there is two pay stations
with dedicated baggers. I use it every time. It is the only store I have seen
that has this option. If other stores knew about this system I’m sure they
would adopt it.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/7afm5r/t...](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/7afm5r/this_check_out_lane_scans_items_as_they_pass/)

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SHOwnsYou
I love the Walmart checkout machines. They suffered initially from poor
software. The update made in the last 4 months or so is 100x better.

I see two frequent problems.

The first is people with a full cart of items. Without the lazy susan of bags,
scanning and bagging takes a long time. Not to mention checkers presumably
have some training regarding grouping like items and other tricks of the trade
Walmart has gleaned over the billions of transactions in their history.

The second is people that are not confident using the software - I hate to
generalize, but usually it's older people. Someone unfamiliar or inefficient
with the software can slow down the customer flow significantly, even if their
cart size is small.

I love it not only because as a millennial that works in software, using the
self check and adapting to unfamiliar situations comes easier to me, but also
I rarely check out with more than 5-10 items because I go shopping 3-5 times
per week rather than once per week.

~~~
petermcneeley
RFID resolves this and other problems including inventory and theft. Even if
you had to do this via visual inspection its still very
possible.([http://mentalfloss.com/article/501060/man-buys-two-metric-
to...](http://mentalfloss.com/article/501060/man-buys-two-metric-tons-lego-
bricks-sorts-them-machine-learning))

~~~
cwilkes
I thought Walmart dictated to their suppliers that every item had to have an
rfid chip in it, and this was years ago. Perhaps having one on every single
item was cost prohibitive.

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parliament32
Note that his article isn't about self checkouts, it's about "Mobile Scan and
Go" which was some sort of "use your phone to scan your items as you shop"
scheme.

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happycube
... instead, they will resume replacing two store cashiers with one store
cashier to increase profits.

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Digory
I’ve heard nothing but raves for scan and go at Sams Club. I wonder if they’ll
keep it for the warehouse clubs?

