Retailers scale back self-checkout lanes amid rising losses

Retailers are increasingly moving away from self-checkout technology as concerns over merchandise losses, including theft and scanning errors, continue to mount. While the systems were initially implemented to reduce labor costs and improve efficiency, companies are now re-evaluating the financial impact of these automated lanes.

Data from an April 2026 survey by Toast, which polled 340 small and midsize retail operators, shows that 36% of respondents currently use self-checkout lanes, down from 43% in 2025. Research from ECR Retail Loss indicates that grocery stores utilizing self-checkout technology experience 33% higher merchandise losses on average compared to those that do not. Furthermore, stores typically see a 22% increase in losses in the year following the installation of the technology.

Several major chains have already taken steps to address these issues. Dollar General removed self-checkout from approximately 12,000 stores in 2024, while Five Below also reduced its reliance on the systems that same year. Other retailers, including Target and Schnucks, have introduced item limits at self-checkout stations, restricting customers to 10 items or fewer.

Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution at Dalhousie University, noted that while self-checkout offers convenience for small purchases, it can become cumbersome for larger transactions. He suggested that retailers may have expanded the technology beyond the types of transactions it is best suited to handle.

Despite the retreat from self-checkout, retailers remain focused on technological investment. The Toast survey found that 75% of retail operators plan to increase their technology spending over the next 12 months, with 90% of those retailers planning to adopt artificial intelligence and other tools such as electronic shelf labels.