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Are self-checkout lanes the new normal in grocery shopping? All signs point to yes. 

“All the lanes are gone,” said Matt Smith of Wal-Mart Corporate Affairs. “There are 34 registers lining the edges of a wide-open area. Each register is equipped with a green light alerting associates and customers to available checkout bays. But aside from the open layout, the most immediately noticeable detail is all the registers are open.”  

Competitor, Hy-Vee has adopted this idea to move to convertible self-checkout lanes, which allows assistance on the floor to help with customers.  

“We have self-checkout stations in roughly about half of our 275 stores in eight states,” Hy-Vee Senior Vice President of Communication Tina Potthoff said. “We are just offering it to customers; we are not getting rid of all checkers because that is a relationship that is needed in a grocery store. But we might see an increase of convertible self-checkout lanes.”  

Wal-Mart Senior Vice President of Innovations Development John Crecelius agreed that customer interaction remains important.   

 “By nature, individual lanes make the checkout experience transactional, but being face-to-face, the interaction becomes a relationship,” Crecelius said. “We want to make it a personal experience.” 

Both grocery stores take ownership and make it a goal to develop a relationship with their customers so they can enjoy their time shopping. Giving shoppers a satisfying experience is a priority for both companies.   

The Hy-Vee in Johnston recently moved to all self-checkout machines. 

“The plans on self-checkout were in play before COVID,” Potthoff said, but the pandemic accelerated those plans.

It makes sense for customers to check themselves during a pandemic. While some believe self-checkout is helpful, others have concerns that it is potentially hurting workers. 

There are many misconceptions about whether self-checkout is taking over more jobs and leaving employees on the verge of becoming unemployed. 

 “Unemployment at Hy-Vee could increase because of these machines,” C.J. Reese, a Grand View University student said. “With these machines making everything so much easier, potentially we could see a cutback on young adults looking for a stable job.”  

“We have a desperate need for people to help with our online grocery shopping,” Potthoff said. “Our business has skyrocketed, so we have quadrupled our business in a matter of a couple of months. Basically, what you would see in five years, we are seeing now. In the world of COVID, now customers are preferring to do online shopping to get that kind of experience rather than go into the store. This does not mean that we are replacing jobs.” 

Reese said the experience has improved for shoppers as well.  

“I feel like I can do this much faster than going to a regular check-out lane with a cashier,” Reese said. “The self-checkout is so efficient and effective to customers like me. Also, it gives me the freedom to sack my own groceries during this time of COVID-19.”  

Reese is just one of the many customers who prefer to sack their own grocery items.  

“We understand that there are many customers who do not like change, but other customers want to have that experience of (self-check-out),” Potthoff said. “People want to do things on their own and have less interaction with other customers during COVID-19, more people find it more convenient, just because they come in and out and only have a few items, so they don’t have to wait in a long line.” 

Hy-Vee plans to keep expanding on better technology as time goes on. 

“We haven’t even touched the surface yet, with the new inventions that we are working on”, Potthoff said. “Hy-Vee is working on a new form of checking out. Once you are finished grabbing all your groceries, you can push out the door and it rings you up automatically. It charges the Visa or credit card that you have on file with Hy-Vee. That is some of the technology that we are looking at, and I can potentially see this in the future.”