PRIMARK has followed in Walmart’s footsteps with a receipt change, but it’s caused controversy among customers.
Some fear it signals a continued favoritism for digital and machine-based assistance at top retailers.
Primark has a receipt requirement at self-checkout stations (stock image)[/caption]
Shoppers must scan their receipt in order to leave the area[/caption]
At least, that’s the concern that a longtime Primark customer, Jason, detailed in a recent post on Facebook.
“Primark upstairs now has self-service card machines, but you have to scan your receipt before you leave the area…” he wrote.
“Get the trying to make it convenient, but not if it gets busy kind of feels like machines are taking over and human staff will soon be obsolete.”
Self-service isn’t exactly a new move for the UK-based chain, as it began rolling them out overseas in 2022, per The Retail Optimiser.
Primark worked with consumer electronics company Itab to create the kiosks and place an optimal amount at stores to improve efficiency and the overall shopping experience.
They notably come with a feature that requires a receipt scan to verify the correct purchases before the shopper can leave the area.
In September of last year, Primark continued this expansion of self-checkout offerings and cited around a 70% reduction in customer wait times as a result of the machines, per a press release.
Currently, Primark has 30 stores in 12 US states, but aims to have at least 60 by 2026.
Those self-checkouts are available at locations in America, and is what Jason encountered during his shopping trip earlier this year.
SIMILAR SETUP
Walmart, of course, also requires receipt checks at self-checkout before customers leave the store.
While it isn’t against the law to refuse the check at Walmart, it would be at subscription-based retailers that also have the rule, like Costco and Sam’s Club, for example.
Sam’s Club has been further developing technology to allow customers to walk out with their receipts automatically checked.
There are exit arches placed at some locations that use a computer vision software and artificial intelligence to scan customers’ carts and compare them to digital receipts instantaneously.
The idea is that it reduces wait times and congestion at the exit.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, that test run has been phased out.
At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.
Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
Customers can pay at a traditional register before walking through the arches or use the Scan & Go feature on the retailer’s mobile app.
Scan & Go allows members to scan the products as they put them in their cart while they shop, generating a single digital barcode for everything when they head to check out.
They can simply take that barcode and walk through the arches, automatically paying for the merchandise with the credit or debit card on file for their membership.
LIMIT IT?
Self-checkouts could be disappearing soon for some shoppers.
Should new proposed legislation pass in Rhode Island, there would be limits for how many self-checkout kiosks retailers can have in-store.
According to the law introduced by Senate president Valarie Lawson, there could be no more than six kiosks available, and one traditional checkout would have to be open for every two machines.
“We’ve all experienced frustration at a self-service checkout, and this experience can be far more challenging for elderly members of the community,” Lawson said in a recent press release.
“This bill would provide options for the consumer by making sure staffed checkout lanes are always available and it would improve the store environment for workers and consumers.”
“When stores use too many self-checkout stations it can cut worker hours and leave some works struggling to manually cover eight self-checkout stations on their own,” she continued.
“This bill protects workers as well as consumers.”
The bill has yet to be approved by the House, and only time will tell if other states do something similar.
Some Americans are also facing a $10,000 fine amid another self-checkout law.
Kroger customers were even left fuming this year over an “aggressive” self-checkout feature they demanded change.
