At least three new changes at Walmart have left some customers upset.
Several are now calling for a boycott of the retail giant because the updates would allegedly affect their shopping experience.
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The complaints mainly relate to self-checkout kiosks, which Walmart has been working to improve for years and is currently making adjustments to.
Similar to how Target introduced a 10-item limit at all kiosks in its 1,963 stores this spring, Walmart has begun testing a 15-item limit in select stores.
The goal of this policy is to make the self-checkout process more efficient and limit the possibility of inventory loss due to misscanned or stolen items, but some customers claim it only creates more problems.
Customers who previously used the self-checkout in selected stores with an order limit of more than 15 items would have to go to a checkout instead.
While this may seem like a simple transition at first glance, many argue that Walmart has not installed enough checkout counters in its stores to handle the influx of customers needing them due to item limits at the kiosk.
The result was long lines and waiting times for many. For example, one customer said he had finally had enough of Walmart and advised others to go to the competition instead.
“Boycott Walmart!” shopper Rosemary shouted in a post on Facebook.
Rosemary explained that she was already frustrated with the previously implemented policy of checking customers’ receipts before leaving the store, but the item limit at the self-checkouts made her flip.
MAKE IT STOP
“But now you can only use the self-checkout if you have 15 items or less!” she wrote.
“And they can’t employ enough people to keep the tills open!”
The shopper said most employees in her store instead stood around and “monitored” the self-checkout area.
In addition, Rosemary claimed that price tags were not updated to reflect special offers and promotions, resulting in some shoppers overpaying for certain products.
“I kept noticing price discrepancies and made sure they matched the shelf prices!” she complained.
The three changes – checking receipts, limiting items to 15, and inconsistencies in pricing – led Rosemary to switch to Aldi instead.
Latest changes to self-checkout
Retailers are developing their self-checkout strategies to shorten checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart customers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at several locations were made available only to Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that the self-checkout lanes were closed at certain times and more cashiers were offered instead.
While customers feared that shoplifting was the reason for the changes, a Walmart spokesperson said store managers were simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment involved an RFID-supported self-checkout kiosk that was intended to eliminate the hotly contested receipt check.
However, this test run was discontinued.
At Target, the number of items at self-checkout lanes is limited.
Last fall, the brand tested new express self-checkout lanes with a maximum of 10 items in 200 stores to increase convenience.
Starting in March 2024, this policy will be expanded to 2,000 stores in the United States.
Customers have also noticed that their local Walmart stores are limiting the number of customers at self-checkout lanes to 15 items or less.
Confusion during the payment process
Others expressed similar complaints.
A Walmart customer who also encountered the 15-item limit policy at the self-checkout said both employees and customers were “confused” during a recent purchase.
The store had closed all cash registers and only opened the self-service checkouts, so customers who had more than 15 items did not know where to go to pay for their goods.
Some left items behind and left the store, something some Walmart customers have already begun doing in protest against the recent changes.
One particularly angry shopper recently left $200 worth of groceries in his shopping cart out of frustration.
Another abandoned his shopping cart and vowed to boycott Walmart like Rosemary did after having to overcome “three hurdles” at the checkout.
