MARK-TO-MARKET: Do Americans really hate the self-checkout aisle?

For consumers, the concept of the self-checkout lane often elicits a varied response. Some of us don’t mind. Some of us grumble. We enter a store; we spend our money and end up doing the employer’s work. We don’t get paid. We don’t receive benefits. We don’t even get an invite to the company Christmas party.

Yet, over the years, the use and adoption of self-checkout kiosks have steadily risen. Perhaps more significantly, as consumers, the evidence suggests we really don’t seem to mind this muddled concept of customer and employee.

The types of self-checkout options vary significantly. We see them at grocery stores and supermarkets, department stores, fast-food restaurants, gas pumps, amusement parks, cinemas and parking garages. We often use them through mobile apps on our cellphones and laptops.

As of 2024, the North American self-checkout systems market is worth $2.68 billion. This is up 65% since 2021. By 2030, the market is expected to exceed $6 billion. According to a global survey by Zebra Technology, 82% of decision-makers at retail stores plan to invest more in self-checkout technology through 2025. Forty-five percent plan on converting more of their traditional staffed registers to self-checkout.

The primary benefit to retailers is reduced labor costs. Though the federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25 per hour, 31 states (62%) have enacted minimum-wage laws that exceed the federal mandate. Washington currently has the highest minimum wage at $16.28 per hour, followed closely by California at $16 per hour. However, California recently raised its minimum wage for much of the fast-food industry to $20 per hour.

Locally, Iowa’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which matches the federal minimum rate. Illinois, however, has one of the highest minimum wages in the nation at $14 per hour. This is set to rise to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2025. In Chicago, the current minimum wage is $15 per hour for businesses with 4-20 employees and $15.80 per hour for those with 21 or more employees.

But the shift away from staffed registers has some drawbacks. Capital One Shopping notes that theft increases by 65% at self-checkout kiosks. Fifteen percent of consumers have intentionally used self-checkout kiosks to steal while, 44% of those individuals admit they plan to re-offend. The average value of items stolen for each theft is $60. And then there’s accidental theft. Twenty-one percent of all self-checkout thefts are deemed accidental, where the shopper simply fails to notice when an item does not scan.

So, where do Americans stand in their views on self-checkout? The results might surprise you. In a Capital One Shopping survey, 73% of American consumers say they actually prefer self-checkout kiosks over traditional staffed registers. In fact, 79.3% say they use self-checkout kiosks for at least half their shopping, and 59.6% have increased their self-checkout usage in the past year, while 52.8% say they plan to increase their usage over the next 12 months. The main reason for this preference is speed. Eighty-five percent of customers say that self-checkout is faster than a traditional cashier.

But that popularity is heavily influenced by age. In a survey by PlayUSA, 84% of Gen Z shoppers (born between 1997 and 2021) prefer self-checkout over traditional cashiers. That preference falls to 76% for Millennials (1981-1996), 57% for Gen X (1965-1980) and just 46% for the second wave of Baby Boomers (1955-1964).

Whether we like them or hate them, the self-checkout aisle is here to stay. From an efficiency and cost-effective standpoint, it’s a direction that retailers have increasingly embraced. By no means is it a perfect system. The goal of retailers is to try and make it a more user-friendly process. Just don’t expect an invitation to your grocer’s employee Christmas party.