Target is quietly pulling self-checkout stations from more stores as backlash grows and concerns over theft mount.

Just last March, the retailer — America’s sixth-largest by sales — committed to installing self-checkouts in all 2,000 US locations.  

But since then, Target has walked back that plan through a series of quiet U-turns.

Despite the company’s silence on the matter, both shoppers and employees have noticed changes such as the disappearance of kiosks, limits on certain items, and frequent closures of self-checkout lanes. These adjustments indicate that the retailer is reassessing its strategies in response to a notable increase in theft incidents.

Other major retailers have also shifted course. Last year, Walmart removed self-checkouts and replaced them with traditional manned lanes.  

Recently, a patron shared that their neighborhood Target had swiftly eliminated all self-checkout stations overnight. An accompanying image displayed barricaded kiosks and marks on the floor signaling the previous placement of the machines.

A Reddit user commented on the situation, stating, ‘The Target near my place completely removed self-checkout.’ The individual expressed astonishment at the sudden and drastic nature of this change.

‘Target’s self-checkout policy has been through a lot of changes and has caused frustration for customers,’ Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData told DailyMail.com. 

Target is cutting self-checkouts from stores

A Redditor shared pictures of their Target’s now empty self-checkout section

‘The problem with Target is a lot of decisions are being taken centrally without proper thought about what they mean on the ground.’ 

Other Target stores have axed self-checkouts. Last May, they were closed at the Target in Emeryville, California. The move was to combat shoplifting

In recent years, Target has complained of high theft levels and even cited it as a reason for closing stores.

Experts say many retailers are scaling back self-checkout because the machines are especially vulnerable to theft — a growing problem that has forced some stores to close altogether. 

The Reddit thread on the latest closure prompted a barrage of replies.

Employees and shoppers say more stores are scaling back — or scrapping — the kiosks entirely. 

‘Our self checkout has been closed for months,’ one commenter wrote. 

‘It seems like theft from our store has gone way down because there is always armed security you have to get past at the front door.’

Some of the largest retailers have taken steps this year to reverse the failed self-checkout experiment. The machines were designed to cut labor costs but caused increased theft

Target has been changing its store policies to keep up with advancing retail theft schemes

Brian Cornell, the company’s CEO, said Target is feeling ‘so much better’ about its law enforcement partnerships

Another person, who said they were a Target worker, posted: ‘High theft means the self checkout wasn’t being used anyway.’

It is not known if the store’s self-checkout change is temporary. DailyMail.com reached out to the original Redditor for comment on this story and didn’t hear back. Meanwhile, Target didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The latest axing of self-checkouts comes after a string of changes over the past year — all linked to fears that the machines lead t higher shoplifting. 

In March 2024, Target capped transactions at 10 items. 

Shoppers with bigger hauls were directed toward staffed lanes, a move designed to reduce errors and speed up checkout lines. 

A month later, it emerged that local stores had been given the power to open kiosks late or shut them early – or even during the day. 

Customers said it lead to long waits since stores do not open extra traditional manned registers to make up for the closed self-checkouts.

Target also introduced new surveillance measures at its self-checkout kiosks in 2024. AI-powered cameras were deployed to monitor transactions more closely and catch missed or skipped scans. 

The company has reported millions of dollars worth of losses in its shrink

Viral videos have shown customers reporting that the tech advancements were ‘snitching’ on shoppers by setting off an alarm when they scanned more than 10 items at the service registers. Target has denied this.  

For years, Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, had raised the alarm about theft at his stores. 

In 2023, the company had reported millions of dollars worth of products were lost via sticky-fingered guests. 

The company decided to put thousands of beauty products behind locked, plexiglass doors to slow down potential thieves.

Some shoppers have reported wait times up to 40 minutes for Target employees to respond to their beauty product inquiries.