VALLEJO, CA – MARCH 12: A sign is posted in front of a Dollar General store on March 12, 2015 in Vallejo, California. Dollar General Stores Inc. announced plans to open over 700 new stores in 2015 in an attempt to improve on its position among discount retailers in the United States. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(NewsNation) — Dollar General is joining the list of big stores cutting down on self-checkout.
“We relied too much this year on self-checkout in our stores,” Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said during an earnings call. “We should be using self-checkout as a secondary checkout vehicle, not a primary[…] It’s going to make a world of difference.”
In 2022, Dollar General expanded self-checkout stations to approximately 19,000 stores, Retail Drive reported. They also piloted some self-checkout-only stores. The company hoped it would offer convenience, speed and reduce labor costs.
However now, the store is now rethinking self-checkout after experiencing “shrink,” which includes “shoplifting, employee theft, damaged products, administrative errors, online fraud and other factors,” CNN reported.
A study, examining retailers, found that companies with self-checkout lanes had a loss rate of about 4% of the total value of the purchases, double industry average, The New York Times reported.
“It helps on the sales line because we’ve got somebody to meet, greet, and ring up the customer. It also helps on the shrink line because you’ve got somebody at the front end of the store that is always there to monitor the front end of the store,” Vason added.
