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A Tennessee woman has been banned from every Walmart in the country after an epic shoplifting spree. Ashley Cross, 37, cannot enter any of the grocery giant's 4,600 stores after being caught running a bar code scam. Cross, a known shoplifter, was caught using barcode for a watch battery to scan multiple items for $1 at self-checkouts. Memphis Police caught Cross in the process of stealing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt some boots and 11 packs of ramen noodles from a Walmart on Elvis Presley Boulevard earlier this week. The total haul was valued at $137.34, according to the...

OAKLAND, Calif. - Shoppers at some Bay Area Safeway stores will no longer have the option to use self-checkout kiosks. The grocery chain confirmed to KTVU that it's getting rid of the self-checkout machines at several stores, although they wouldn't specify which ones. Safeway officials said they're removing the kiosks because of problems with theft – too many customers steal items when they go through the self-checkout. "Operational changes have been made at select stores throughout the Bay Area given the increasing amount of theft," according to Safeway's statement. "Self-checkout kiosks have been removed at a few stores. Like other...

A proposed Senate bill would prohibit self-checkout lanes for customers at all California grocery and retail drug stores unless certain conditions are met. It’s all in an effort to combat theft. “I think self-checkouts are pretty good in terms of efficiency," said David Kisieu, Cal Poly student. "If I don’t have a lot of stuff, I don’t really want to wait and deal with a lot of people. I just scan something really quickly and leave." Senate Bill 1446, proposed by state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas of Los Angeles, stores would be able to offer self-checkout lanes if the checkouts are...

A California thief used Target’s self-checkout service to snatch over $60,000 worth of merchandise during a shoplifting spree spanning across 100 visits to the retail store. Aziza Graves, 43, visited the Target at the Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco 120 times between October 3, 2020, and November 16, 2021, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. During her elaborate scheme, Graves picked items from the shelves before she headed straight to the self-checkout counter, scanned her items, and paid a nominal amount, such as a single coin or bill, before exiting the store. Graves was arrested in November 2021...

A new California bill has the potential to ban self-checkout options in grocery stores in an attempt to curb retail theft. Senate Bill 1446, introduced by Democratic state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, would “prohibit a grocery or retail drug establishment from providing a self-service checkout option” unless conditions such as ensuring that no more than two self-service checkout stations are monitored by one employee are met, according to a summary of the proposed legislation. The bill also mandates that stores access how using artificial intelligence or other technology may cut jobs and “significantly affects the essential job functions of its employees.”...

They were introduced as a way to cut lines, boost efficiency in store and reduce staffing numbers - and boomed in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. But is the self checkout falling out of favor with big-name retailers? In recent weeks, Dollar General, Target and Walmart have all announced sweeping changes to automated registers in stores across the US. Experts say the rollback is linked, mostly, to fears around theft - as it is much easier for customers to shoplift items at the self checkout rather than a checkout with a cashier. But retailers say they are also trying to...

Consumers should anticipate two major alterations to their shopping experience in the coming year, an expert has warned. A consumer specialist is forecasting a grim conclusion for two contentious supermarket policies that could reshape shoppers’ habits. Supermarket Guru, Phil Lempert has projected retail tendencies for a quarter of a century, and his recent predictions might come as good news to some shoppers. In a conversation with The U.S. Sun, the expert explained that security concerns and consumer preferences may be the main drivers of these changes. “From a security standpoint, what’s happened is the retailers with self-checkout have had to...

San Francisco stores have quietly disabled self-checkout recently, indicating a trend in “defensive retailing” that may soon spread across the city. While innovative measures to prevent theft at Bay Area retailers have been well documented this year, the changes to self-checkout are a more recent development. The Safeway at 1335 Webster St. in the Fillmore District closed down its self-checkout area a few months ago, an employee confirmed to SFGATE. Target on San Francisco’s Mission Street also has closed its self-checkout kiosks, rotating the screens backward to make them unusable to customers, SFGATE confirmed. While Safeway and Target did not...

We’ve all been there! We’re leaving a grocery store and a staff member asks us to stop, they want to see our receipt. And for most folk, this experience is embarrassing because it straight up makes you feel they believe you’re a shoplifter. In one TikTok, a guy called David explains how much this experience angers him and a lawyer @Texaschancla told people you don’t actually have to show your receipt if those are your goods! This guy says: “It really ****** me off that people at Walmart check your **** when you’re leaving. Like excuse me Walmart, last time...

Consumers already contending with a squeeze on their bank accounts due to inflation are now facing more pressure as businesses introduce new tipping features at self-checkout machines. Companies, including airports, bakeries, coffee shops and sports stadiums, have now introduced the self-serve tipping option, where customers can leave tips including the typical 20%, despite facing minimal to no interaction with any employee, according to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal. Customers report feeling obligated to leave a tip as they question where and to whom the extra money is actually going, but businesses are increasingly embracing the option to...

SELF-CHECKOUT machines have been a constant feature in supermarkets and grocery stores across the U.S. for years. The kiosks have helped make the shopping process more convenient for customers as they don't have to wait in long lines. But, self-checkout-related theft has become more prominent and there have been occasions when shoppers have been wrongly accused of stealing amid technological errors. Dod Ghassemkhani, a criminal defense attorney based in San Diego, believes that the machines will disappear in the long term. He told The U.S. Sun: “Self-checkouts will eventually go because there’s so much theft. "At some point, it’s not...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — An Arkansas Walmart is being used as a test location to launch all self-checkout registers at its store. A Walmart spokesperson said Walmart Supercenter Store #359 in Fayetteville is currently removing all of its traditional belt lines to replace them with self-checkout registers. There will be no cashiers at the location.

Only some checkout lanes in Safeway stores were affected, Krebs said. This isn't necessarily surprising: When Home Depot was the victim of a data breach last year, compromised self-checkout lanes were thought to be the culprit. Card skimming often pops up at gas stations, ATMs and other places where the payment terminals aren't always under the supervision of a cashier. Skimming devices are getting smaller and sneakier, so it's a good idea to pay attention when you swipe, since even small discrepancies in the PIN pad, card

WICHITA, Kan.,A fight broke out a Kansas Walmart in Wichita on Monday afternoon after a customer became frustrated with a self-checkout machine and began cursing at the device. The 36-year-old man had difficulty completing his transaction and held up the line, much to the chagrin of an unnamed 35-year-old Hispanic male. Capt. Doug Nolte told the Wichita Eagle that the Hispanic man confronted the fuming customer and they engaged in a dispute that continued outside of the store. Once the altercation spilled outside, a 40-year-old black man got involved and punched the cursing customer in the face. The punch knocked...

<p>One of the nation's major grocery store chains is eliminating self-checkout lanes in an effort to encourage more human contact with its customers.</p> <p>Albertsons LLC, which operates 217 stores in seven Western and Southern states, will eliminate all self-checkout lanes in the 100 stores that have them and will replace them with standard or express lanes, according to published reports.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - Supermarket checkout clerks are going the way of the bank teller - available if you want one, avoidable if you don't. Self-checkout machines, which let customers scan, bag and pay for their own groceries, offer shoppers a chance to avoid the lines at the checkout stands. "This is like an ATM for them. It's quicker and easier," said Jennifer Panetta, a spokeswoman for the six-state Harris Teeter chain, based in Matthews, N.C. "They are in pretty much all our stores." About one-quarter of grocery chains are trying them now, with some 34,000 machines in use in stores...