CLEVELAND — Walmart at Steelyard Commons is removing its self-checkout kiosks. The company states that the decision was related to “store shopping patterns.”
In the release, Walmart never specified if theft was the reason for the changes but said it was a decision based on research and employee customer feedback.
Self-checkout will no longer be available at Walmart in Steelyard Commons. Walmart spokesperson Charles Crowson said that starting Sunday, Walmart will begin removing all self-checkout lanes going to all associate-staffed checkouts. This frightens shoppers, including Leah Burchnell, who said she likes to get in and out of that Walmart as fast as possible.
“I am probably going to end up going to a different Walmart then because I don't like to have to wait down here,” said Burchnell. “Especially with all the crime that’s been going down here. It’s very scary. It really is.”
In a statement, Crowson said the change was driven by Walmart's commitment to improving the in-store experience. The decision was made based on customer and associate feedback, including research related to store shopping patterns and business needs within the market.
Another shopper, Cory Sheneman, doesn’t think removing shelf checkout will improve his future experiences.
“Last week we were standing in the doorway as some guy was getting tased for stealing a jacket and had his pockets fully loaded with everything the could grab, I was like, ‘woah’,” said Sheneman.
Michael Goldberg, Case Western University Associate Professor at the Department of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management, said many retail stores are suffering from shrinkage. It’s a term used when a store has fewer items in stock than it’s supposed to, whether items were stolen, damaged or expired. The National Retail Association said shrinkage in 2022 represented $112 billion in losses. Goldberg thinks Walmart's self checkout removal is an attempt to try and save money.
“So some of the retailers, while they were originally enthusiastic about benefiting from the lower labor costs that would take place with not having to hire folks to check folks out are now recalculating,” said Goldberg. “You know, sort of at that checkout line that it makes sense to, to pay for that cashier to make sure that what is going in folks, grocery bags is things that they're paying for.”
But some grocers are actually encouraging self-checkout. At Meijer Fairfax Market on 105th Street, that is the only way to purchase groceries, and some shoppers said they love it.
“I like doing it myself,” said Kimberly Norris. “I think it goes much faster. They guide you right to the registers, and someone is always walking around to help you out, and it goes very smoothly.”
Goldberg thinks self-checkout eliminations will be done on a store-by-store basis.
It's still costly for stores to hire cashiers, as the Department of Labor found in 2019, there were 1.4 million people working as cashiers; that number is now down to 1.2 million.
“To some degree, I think self checkout is here to stay,” said Goldberg.
News 5 reached out to Walmart for further comment regarding whether retail crime launched the self-checkout changes. Walmart spokesperson Charles Crowson responded saying in part quote, "We're aware retail crime is a problem and something we're paying attention to as a company. As previously mentioned, the decision to convert our checkout space was based on several factors.”
Crowson added that Walmart is constantly working to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for customers and associates. All 15 other area Walmart locations will continue to have self-checkout available.
