(NewsNation) — While self-checkout lanes offer convenience, they are also becoming a hotspot for theft, as more shoppers confess to skipping the scan.

A LendingTree survey reveals that 27% of American self-checkout users have purposely left items unscanned, a noticeable increase from 15% earlier this year.

The survey highlights that Millennials (41%) and Gen Z adults (37%) most frequently admit to this behavior, whereas only 2% of Baby Boomers confess to similar actions. Additionally, men (38%) are more than twice as likely as women (16%) to acknowledge participating in self-checkout theft.

When asked about their motives, 47% blamed the challenging economic conditions that make it hard to afford basic necessities. Almost as many (46%) pointed to rising prices, often linked to tariffs, while 39% simply felt that current prices are unjust or excessively high.

“Despite the moral implications and awareness of risks, difficult times lead many to take chances they otherwise wouldn’t consider,” Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer analyst, explained in the findings.

About a third of those who’ve stolen said they don’t feel remorseful, and a similar share (35%) see self-checkout as “unpaid work,” so taking small items “feels like compensation.”

Interestingly, those with household incomes of $100,000 or more were the most likely (40%) to say they’ve intentionally taken an item without scanning it. Just 17% of those making less than $30,000 said the same.

Stores rethink how widely they use self-checkout

Self-checkouts have become more common in recent years, but major retailers have started to pull back.

Aldi shoppers in the Chicago area recently noticed that some stores had removed their self-checkout stations, prompting several frustrated customers to post about it on social media.

“Nothing scarier than the line at Aldi after they took out all the self checkout kiosks,” a Chicago TikToker said in a video.

Another shopper blamed theft for the change, saying: “We can never have a good thing because people just ruin it.”

Aldi did not respond to NewsNation’s request for comment. The grocer told Axios the stations were removed to “ensure we’re offering the best shopping experience possible while delivering exceptional value,” and said self-checkout will remain available at many stores.

Dollar General said last year it had removed self-checkout from 12,000 stores, citing the “ongoing challenge from shrink,” the industry term for inventory lost to theft and other non-sales factors.

Target rolled out express self-checkout in March 2024 at most of its stores, but limits the option to 10 items or fewer. Meanwhile, Amazon has largely removed its cashierless Just Walk Out technology from Amazon Fresh stores.

LendingTree’s findings underscore why self-checkout remains a complicated tool for retailers. Most respondents (55%) said they liked self-checkout machines for their speed and convenience, but among those who admitted stealing, the same share — 55% — said they think they’ll do it again.

“I get that people are frustrated, but no one should encourage people to walk away from a retailer without paying for something,” Schulz said.

The online survey of 2,050 U.S. consumers was conducted in October.