Target self-checkout rules are changing at almost every store this weekend. Here’s how

Target has announced that it will change its self-checkout policies at almost all of its nearly 2,000 stores this weekend. From March 17, Express Self-Checkout lanes at most of its stores will be limited to shoppers with 10 items or fewer to check out. If you have more than that, you’ll need to use a staffed checkout lane.



Target says the move is being made in response to guest feedback after the company tested self-checkout limits at about 200 stores last fall. The result of that test, Target says, was a self-checkout experience that was twice as fast for customers. “By having the option to pick self-checkout for a quick trip, or a traditional, staffed lane when their cart is full, guests who were surveyed told us the overall checkout experience was better, too,” Target said.



The self-checkout experience has been a hot-button topic among American retailers and customers for the last few years. While self-checkout lanes have been around for decades, their use increased during the early years of the pandemic when social distancing became important.



Retailers also benefitted financially from the use of self-checkout lanes. The more self-checkout lanes a store has, the fewer number of human cashiers the store needs, which saves on labor costs.



However, self-checkout lanes have been a double-edged sword for retailers. The customer-controlled terminals have led to higher incidents of “shrink”—the retail industry’s term for loss of inventory from theft or cashier errors. One of the drawbacks of self-checkout for retailers is that a customer may intentionally or accidentally fail to scan one or more of the items in their carts.



This has led to some retailers cutting back on their self-checkout lanes, even as doing so has led to increased lines and wait times at human-staffed checkouts. These increasingly long lines have gone viral on social media—a bad image for retailers.



Target’s new self-checkout policy seems to be designed to address many of these frustrations. By retaining its self-checkout lanes but limiting them to 10 items or fewer, the retailer is allowing people with shorter shopping lists to still get in and out of the store quickly. Shrink may also be reduced if customers with larger orders are now required to use a staffed checkout lane.



To avoid a backup at staffed checkout lanes due to the new self-checkout limitations, Target says it is “opening more traditional lanes staffed by our team members across all our stores.”



Target’s changes come as some lawmakers have begun taking a look at self-checkout policies in stores, most notably examining how the lanes impact workers and economic growth. As for Target customers who loved the ability to ring out dozens of items at self-checkout, you have only two days left to continue doing so. Target’s new self-checkout policies go into effect on Sunday.