A Northern supermarket chain Booths removed its self-service check outs back in November 2023, from all of its 28 stores.
it claimed that the decision was about improving customer service, but quite possibly there was a more cynical motive:
Self-checkouts are correlated with a more than doubling in shoplifting rates. I mean this makes sense, it's pretty easy to do, and Rational Choice Theory holds that crime increases when it's easier for people to get away with it.
According to this Daily Mail article even the middle classes are scamming the self check outs, even Mum's Net users!
The problem is not so much the lack of surveillance - most of these self check outs actually record people on video, don't forget - but then no one is reviewing the footage!
It's also interesting to note that some stores don't actually weigh the bagging area items too accurately, so it's defo possible to scan one item and put another lighter weight item in with it without scanning that.
The theft stats are generational too, according on survey one third of Gen Zers admitted to stealing from a self check out compared to 15% over all, no wonder more than half of younger people love a self check out in a store!
Solutions: more or less tech...?
I can see this going either way... either strip them out and replace them with the old staff-served check outs.
Or the hybrid solution: double the number of staff monitoring self check outs.
Or go the whole hog and upgrade the tech: more sensitive weighing machines, and maybe even get some better AI related cameras to identify what's being passed surreptitiously below the scanner, link that to facial recognition to flag suspects for closer monitoring, or ban them from the self checkouts altogether!
So if you like a bit of light fingered action at these automated tills, enjoy it while you can still get away with it!