Why Stores are Removing Self-Scan Checkouts Due to Increase in Theft and Other Issues

In recent weeks, a number of branches in The Hague, Lelystad, Amsterdam, Purmerend and Hoofddorp, among others, have stopped using the self-scan checkout.

A customer of the Action on the Zeedijk in Hilversum tells RTL Nieuws that the self-scan kiosks were suddenly no longer there. “I asked an employee why that was and I got the answer that it was decided because there is so much stealing. So I had to get back in line.”

Self-checkouts have grown in popularity in recent years. In 2019, the Action started testing self-scan checkouts in a limited number of stores. A year later it was announced that the Action would roll out the cash registers more widely.

‘Search for the best way’

“It is true that shops are stopping self-scanning”, a spokesperson for Action confirms to RTL Nieuws. But Action does not make clear how many there are exactly. “We are constantly looking at how we can improve the customer experience, the self-scan is relatively new, especially for Action. We, and our customers, still have to learn from this and by testing it we learn what the best way is.”

It is therefore possible that the self-scans disappear, but also come back. We look at what works best for each store. “Different ways are being tested with various technological possibilities.”

The emergence of the self-scan checkout leads to more stolen products. But Action’s spokesman says that ‘not so much’ is the reason for removing the cash registers.

It is relatively easy to steal via the self-scan. Whether a customer accidentally fails to pay for something, or deliberately scans only one product and leaves with a full cart: it happens. Customers are randomly checked.

Increase in theft

The number of shoplifting will increase by 30 percent in 2022, according to recent police figures. There is no specific data on thefts at self-checkout checkouts, but according to retail experts, the increase in theft has everything to do with it.

It is logical that retail chains prefer not to elaborate too much on this, says retail expert Cor Molenaar. “Often people who don’t have much to spend come to the Action; they earn average or less. If people then hear that it is easy to steal, it attracts thieves.”

But theft is not the only reason to remove a self-checkout. “It’s an addition,” says Molenaar. “Such a device must not only have added value for the customer, but also for the company. A self-scan checkout costs money and you need employees to carry out the checks. And if it turns out that it does not lead to cost reduction in your company, then it is It makes sense to stop.”

Wrestling

Retail expert Marcel van Aalst says that stores continue to struggle with shrink since the arrival of the self-scan checkout. “The customer does ask for convenience and wants to shop quickly. You also want to offer service, and that creates a split. In addition, it is also the case that some customers do it unconsciously. They are then messing around with such a laser, so that not everything is scanned properly.”

More measures could be a solution, but that also makes it more expensive for the store. “If you do more random checks, give expensive products a chip, or install more cameras, it will take care of that in the end for a cost increase. And all of that has to be earned back.”

Retail expert Eelco Hos says that stopping the self-scan seems a logical response if the number of thefts increases. “But even without the self-scan, people steal. It feels a bit like throwing in the towel.”

Removing the self-scan has a number of disadvantages, says Hos. More cashiers are needed, and putting up old-fashioned cash registers takes up more retail space, which in turn means you can fit fewer shelves.

Back in line

And not unimportant: customers like to be able to do the self-scanning. “You have to queue longer again. And you take away something from the customer that they have always had. So from a customer’s perspective, I don’t understand this,” says the expert. “But I don’t know the situation in the stores, and I don’t know the numbers. But I can imagine that the honest customer is not happy with this.”