Wegmans Discontinues Self-Checkout App, Citing Losses

A study of retailers in the United States and Europe released in 2016 found that retailers with self-service lanes and apps had a loss rate of about 4 percent, which is more than double the industry average.

Walmart suspended the use of its Scan Go app in 2018, four months after introducing it to more than 100 stores. The app had low participation, the company said. A former Walmart executive, Joel Larson, told Business Insider that the app was also phased out in part because of theft.

“Retailers in particular are very sensitive to loss prevention issues because the margins in their business are tighter, especially the grocery store retailers,” Mr. Wimer said.

The self-checkout lanes with an employee monitoring customers are more likely to remain in stores, he said. But he did not believe a cashier could ever be fully replaced, which was the concern when this system started. Self-checkout options still run into issues with scales and sensors that can hold up a line, and some customers prefer to avoid the possibility of that delay.

The Amazon-style system, which seems to prevent much of the loss present with other self-checkout apps, is expensive for companies to set up because of the technology required, Mr. Wimer said.

Responses to self-checkout options vary based on age, said Judy Mottl, the editor of Retail Customer Experience, a website with news about commerce, technology and consumer behavior. Younger people may be more inclined to use self-checkout options, but some customers are concerned about security and privacy as it is unknown how much data is stored with options like apps.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/18/business/wegmans-self-checkout-shoplifting.html