Target’s new self-checkout limits have officially started.
Shoppers will now have to limit the number of items in their baskets to 10 items or less if they choose to use Target’s standalone kiosks.
The retail giant announced last week on Thursday that it would be launching “Express Self-Checkout” after it piloted the concept at about 200 of its stores last fall.
The change went into effect yesterday and will improve efficiency and customer experience, the company said.
The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Target said the express option will be implemented across most of its nearly 2,000 stores across the U.S. Target’s store leaders will have the “flexibility” to open more traditional checkout lanes and designate the hours that the self-checkout kiosks can be used.
“While the hours of operation may vary based on store needs, Express Self-Checkout will be available during the busiest shopping times,” the company said.
Target’s decision to speed up the self-checkout experience may in part be led by its efforts to curb long lines and theft, which have long been a drag on corporate America.
Target told “Good Morning America” in a statement that while it saw “a reduction of theft in our test stores,” the pilot program “wasn’t directed in targeting theft.”
Moreover, the move comes at a time when other retailers look to get a handle on their vanishing inventory. Last week, Walmart said it would limit the number of items that could be scanned via its self-checkout registers, as well as who could use them. During that same period, Dollar General said it would plan to tug self-checkout kiosks from 300 of its stores.
Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO, said the move was the company’s way of rooting out locations where people are using them to steal the most product. Product theft, often dubbed “shrink,” refers to any inventory that is lost.