Walmart offers to launch probe after shopper forced to abandon cart and walks out – lines were the last straw

WALMART has told an irate shopper it will investigate a queuing complaint after they deserted their cart.

And another customer said they refused to use self-checkout because they were fed up with their card being skimmed.

"I had a terrible experience at Walmart in Weaverville NC today,” a shopper complained on X/Twitter on August 18.

“They only had a few self check outs running, and it caused the lines to back out into the (a)isles.

“I left my cart full of groceries and left. Absolutely ridiculous."

Walmart has reached out to the shopper, and signalled it is happy to launch an investigation into the issue.

The U.S. Sun has contacted the retailer for comment on the complaint.

Walmart has also reached out to an irate shopper in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Walmart line[s] are ridiculous!!!!" the mom wrote on X. "They literally only have two cashiers! Self-checkout lines be lines asf. It’s so annoying."

Her rant caught the eye of Walmart's help page, which asked her to "send us a DM, we wanna [hear] more about this."

LOSING MONEY

But, the switch to self-checkout tech "hasn't delivered anything that it promises," warned Christopher Andrews, associate professor and chair of sociology at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey.

He told the UK's BBC News in January that retailers had installed self-checkouts to cut labor costs.

"Stores saw this as the next frontier... but they're finding that people need help doing it, or that they'll steal stuff.

"They ended up realising that they're not saving money, they're losing money."

The broadcaster's investigation found that customers in the US are still stuck in queues, despite hopes they would exit shops faster.

Plus, shoppers still "need store employees to help clear kiosk errors or check their ID for age-restricted items," it said.

"Stores still need to have workers on-hand to help them, and to service the machines."

JOBS OVER PROFITS

Also, some shoppers just want to speak to an actual human, and they're concerned about the axing of jobs as people are being replaced by machines.

"I like to know my money is helping give someone a job. I will wait in line for a human over self check every time," said one person on a Walmart-themed Reddit discussion.

"[I'm] not helping downsize Walmart's staff and up their profits."

Latest self-checkout changes

Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.

Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.

Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.

While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled the updates, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.

One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.

However, that test run has been phased out.

At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.

Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.

As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.

Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.

But one shopper predicted the eventual demise of the retailer's self-checkout aisles.

"Walmart is taking some away and making massive changes to them, I would be surprised if they still existed in this current form in five years from now," they added on Reddit.

THEFT

One Walmart shopper said they avoided self-checkout option because of security fears.

"I don't go to the cashier because I want the interaction - I go because at my local Walmart, there have been many issues with card numbers being stolen from the self checkouts," the Reddit user said.

"Sometimes you can swipe your card and then, before you get out of the store, someone is trying to use it!

"There have been several discussions of this on our local groups. It's always the self checkout where it happens. Given that, I don't want to risk having my card information skimmed! So, I go to the person."

Walmart has also been under fire because of its recent decision to limit self-checkout desks to 15 items or less in some stores.

But Target launched a ten-item or less policy in March this year, and its shoppers have also been unimpressed.