Walmart Has Gone Back to Checking Out Old School. Could Texas Be Next to Make the Switch?

There has been a great debate over the last several years in Texas about how good or bad self checkout is at Walmart and other stores. One side says it destroys jobs. The other side says it's the greatest thing ever. Walmart is the biggest user of self checkout if you follow the complaints on social media. Other businesses have decided to add a few self checkout lanes like Brookshire's. Is this retail trend coming to an end? I don't think so but an experiment in New Mexico may bring a shift in the use of self checkout.

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New Mexico Experiment

Back in October of this year, three Walmart stores in New Mexico decided to get rid of self checkouts all together and revert to face to face checking out with a cashier. With all the people that complain about self checkout, their were just as many who complained about this switch. Several Walmart customers told Albuquerque, New Mexico TV station KRQE that didn't like having to spend 15 minutes in line to checkout three or four items.

Will this experiment come to Texas?

To be honest, I have no idea. Look at Walmart on South Broadway in Tyler. They completely revamped their checkout system a while back. There are a plethora of self checkout options. But there are also real checkers inside of those self checkout areas. The times I've been in there, I've seen a host of people using both. So no, I don't think Walmart is banning self checkouts from any of the Tyler Walmart stores. That doesn't mean they won't experiment somewhere else in Texas.

I Love Self Checkout

I love it because I usually don't have a basket full of stuff when I go shopping. On the rare occasion that I do, I find a real cashier and check out there. Otherwise, I use self checkout. It's quick and easy.

Jobs Haven't Gone Away

Being a cashier is not the only job you can do at Walmart. They have greeters, stockers, cleaning crew and management among others. Because of curbside pickup, they have to hire people to gather what you've ordered online, bag it and load it in your car. Jobs haven't gone away, really, just shifted to something else because of modern commerce.

Bottom Line

It's certainly an interesting debate about the pros and cons of self checkout. Use it, don't use it. If a store is 100% self checkout then you have two choices, shop there and use self checkout or don't shop there. A business is doing what thinks is best for the business, bringing in the most profit. They'll do it no matter all the yelling someone does on social media about it.