And before 1920 or so people came in with a list and presented it to a stockboy who ran through the store and collected the items, often portioning them as they were not individually packaged. Then came Piggly wiggly and the modern supermarket where you had to do his job, ugh, imagine the jobs lost. (BTW, grocery mark-ups are typically below 5%, volume is how they make money).
Studies have shown that self check-out does not cause job losses. People are reassigned making them more productive and valuable to the store.
Self checks have been shown to increase customer satisfaction, particularly for those with just a couple items, by speeding up check out speed and reducing lines for those who don't like it or can't use self check. This increase in satisfaction leads to a increased in sales and productivity which leads to the stores hiring additional workers and improved working conditions as a store becomes more profitable.
Don't use them if you don't want to, some of us like them, but they keep prices down and as the industry changes there will be options. Some stores remove them sure to customer feedback.
I for one don't remember Walmart lines ever getting shorter before self checks were installed,. Lol.
3 years ago
