[j. earl carter]

I like the selfcheckout, too. As for theft, these have an upside as well. I suspect the embarrassing items are the most shop-lifted (condoms, suppositories, yeast infection treatments, etc.).

The stuff we buy can be very personal. It's normal to not want a cashier eyeballing your stuff.

[morphing libertarian]

I don’t see going to the store as a social event. So the machine check-out saves time as lonely people chat up the checker and the bagger.