I seem to remember that when scanning was first touted for shoppers that you were supposed to able to load your cart and pass it through the scanners which automatically detected everything in the cart and rang up your bill.
Now in many stores we have to scan our own merchandise in a laborious process eliminating the jobs of the cashiers who could do it faster. What ever happened to the automatic scanners that were predicted?
They’ve been tested. I remember an article about Kroger with scanning tunnels but the tech isn’t there yet. We’re starting to see self checkout with a manned register style conveyor belt bagging area here in Georgia. From an article last year, Walmart has this reportedly disastrous AI camera system that’s supposed to catch theft but all it probably does is give a birds eye view of register activity.
Have you see a reduction in prices when you do it yourself?
No, I haven’t either.
We didn’t have the technology yet. No way to get the scanners small enough and useful enough. But it’s getting there, thus this store.
“Now in many stores we have to scan our own merchandise in a laborious process eliminating the jobs of the cashiers who could do it faster.”
They didn’t eliminate the jobs of the cashiers - you are now the (unpaid) cashier.
Actually, maybe you get paid after all through lower prices, since competition is still fierce at the retail level.
BTW, that’s what’s going to happen to most minimum wage jobs. Robots can do the work for less than $15/hr and the company doesn’t have to pay payroll taxes and give lunch and bathroom breaks.
Another wonderful consequence of leftist policies.
Prediction: soon they will impose a tax on each machine.
I have been at an unnamed supermarket where they had 2 (out of 20+) cashiers and 8 self checkout lanes. When I got to the lines they were sooooo darnnnnned lonnnnng so I abandoned my full cart and walked out.