Walmart limited the number of users of its newest self-checkout lanes, forcing customers to go to other stores.
Walmart is the latest retailer to limit the number of items that can be paid for at self-checkout lanes.
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Currently, only customers who purchase 15 or fewer items can use the self-checkout feature.
There was an immediate backlash from customers, who attributed the change to long queues.
“Is Walmart trying to lose customers?” asked shopper Jonathan (@jkalen133) on X.
“They’ve removed the cashiers for the self-checkouts and there’s no strict limit of 15 items there.”
He said an employee counted the items in people’s shopping carts to make sure they were following the rule.
Unfortunately, only a few other cash registers were open for customers with larger purchases.
“No more Walmart trips for me,” he wrote.
Another customer had a similar problem while shopping during peak hours.
“I see four service employees looking at each other’s phones and chatting while I stand in the only checkout line with 20 other customers on a Friday afternoon,” they wrote.
They claimed they had waited in line for 20 minutes.
A third customer was forced to use the self-checkout despite the new regulation because there were no manned checkouts open in her store.
“If you have seven employees monitoring everyone, you can put them on a registry,” she wrote.
“I’m 68 years old and I don’t want to work for Walmart and check in my stuff!”
MISSING THE TARGET
Target introduced a similar policy earlier this year, limiting self-checkout to a maximum of ten items.
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.
The change, called “express self-checkout,” was intended to shorten queues.
But customers experienced something different in the stores.
“Dear Target, you cannot change the self-checkout feature to 10 items or less and then just open a regular checkout,” wrote one angry shopper on X.
“Nobody has time to wait 20 minutes in line at the checkout.”
Target apologized to the customer, but similar complaints were not long in coming.
“Target’s new 10-item limit at self-checkout is garbage,” wrote another customer.
“I will never buy more than 10 items there again.”
One Target customer said he would boycott the store because of the change.
Walmart customers have also complained about the store’s limited payment options.
