Retailers Reduced Self-Checkout Use Amid Higher Losses
Operators are rolling back self-checkout kiosks or adding item limits to curb significant increases in merchandise theft and errors.
Updated on Oct. 4, 2026 in Retail
Live Poll
Do you prefer to use self-checkout kiosks over waiting in a human-staffed checkout line?
Data from April 2026 indicates that retail operators' use of self-checkout dropped to 36 percent, down from 43 percent in 2025. This shift follows industrywide evidence linking the technology to substantial spikes in merchandise losses.
Why it matters
Retailers are retreating from self-service models because stores using these kiosks reported a 22 percent increase in merchandise losses the year after installation. These losses were 33 percent higher than in stores that maintained traditional, staffed checkout lanes.
Retailers using self-checkout fell to 36 percent in 2026 vs. 43 percent in 2025. Grocery stores reported 33 percent higher losses in locations with self-checkout compared to those without it, prompting operational changes.
The players
Dollar General
A discount retailer operating thousands of small-format stores across the United States.
Target
A national big-box retailer focused on general merchandise and grocery products.
Walmart
The nation's largest retailer by revenue, operating a massive network of supercenters and neighborhood markets.
Schnucks
A regional grocery store operator that manages a chain of supermarkets in the Midwest.
The details
Retailers have responded to persistent theft and scanning errors by either stripping kiosks from store layouts or restricting their use. In 2024, Dollar General removed the technology from roughly 12,000 stores, while firms like Target and Walmart implemented item count limits of 10 and 15 items respectively. Beyond private decisions, some local jurisdictions are intervening, such as a 2025 Long Beach ordinance requiring at least one staffed lane.
Timeline
2024: Major retailers implemented item limits and removed self-checkout systems.
2025: Long Beach passed a self-checkout regulation ordinance.
April 2026: Toast conducted a survey on retail self-checkout usage.
Market Landscape
The retreat from self-checkout reflects a broader recalibration of retail technology strategies following the 2026 Toast survey results. Operators are increasingly prioritizing loss prevention over the labor-saving benefits that drove previous expansion.
Operators should audit their own shrink data to determine if the labor savings from self-checkout are offset by increased merchandise losses. While 75 percent of retailers plan to continue investing in other technologies, the current focus is on tighter controls for existing self-service units.
The takeaway
The move away from self-checkout signals that retailers are correcting for the unintended costs of automated store operations. Monitor your own store’s loss metrics against the industry benchmark to determine if a return to fully staffed checkouts is required for your site.
Further reading
For more on industry shifts, see the latest updates in Retail.
Live Poll
Do you prefer to use self-checkout kiosks over waiting in a human-staffed checkout line?
