A POPULAR grocery store chain has started to axe self-checkout at certain stores, hoping to improve things for customers.
Hy-Vee bosses have said they want to create a “better experience” for shoppers and hope more face-to-face contact with staff will help.
Hy-Vee bosses are hoping to improve the instore experience for shoppers[/caption]
Spokesperson Tina Potthoff said some stores have scrapped self-checkouts in recent months.
At other stores, the scan and pay systems have been switched to speedy express lanes with a ban on baskets holding 12 items or more.
“We just want to provide a better customer experience in several of our stores by bringing back the face-to-face interaction with our employees that we had pre-Covid,” she said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
She reportedly declined to give a full list of the Hy-Vee stores making the changes, but the 8701 Douglas Avenue store in Urbandale had scrapped all self-checkout lanes as of Monday.
The chain had added self-checkout to most of its stores in 2019.
In 2020, Hy-Vee went on to implement further self-checkout options as the Covid pandemic raged on.
It went on to ditch its Scan & Go systems in 2023.
“Hy-Vee’s Scan & Go service will be disabled, effective Monday, Feb. 20,” the company announced on its website at the time.
The app was launched in 2021 and was designed to allow customers to scan items on their phones as they shopped throughout the store.
Then, shoppers could skip the checkout line and pay by just scanning the app.
Hy-Vee is not the only superstore shaking up the way it wants shoppers to checkout.
Most Target stores have a 10-item limit at their self-checkouts, meaning anyone with a bursting basket has to pay at the register.
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 had 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.
Hy-Vee has more than 286 stores located in eight Midwestern states including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, per the company.
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.
