We’ve all experienced the frustration and overwhelmed feeling when standing in front of a self-checkout machine at the store. These machines were supposed to make our lives easier, but they often end up causing more problems than they solve. And now, there’s even more reason to avoid them.
According to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, self-checkout machines were primarily implemented by retailers to save money on labor costs, without considering the customer’s best interests. In reality, customers have disliked these machines from the very beginning.
Companies like Walmart and Target have heavily invested in self-checkout machines because they can save up to sixty-six percent on labor costs by replacing cashiers. However, studies have shown that these machines frequently malfunction, requiring assistance from a human worker to ensure a smooth checkout process.