California businesses could take a profits hit with self-checkout elimination | FOX Business
Today’s Doughie: The Self-Checkout Shake-Up
Hold onto your shopping carts, folks! California is stirring up a retail ruckus with a new bill, Senate Bill 1446, that’s set to ban self-checkout stations unless stores jump through a few hoops. The idea behind this legislation is to tackle theft, which some experts say has been a growing issue with these high-tech checkout lanes. Sounds like a solid plan, right? But here’s where things get a bit sticky.
According to the bill, stores would need to have one employee for every two self-checkout stations, and that employee can’t be multitasking. If this bill passes, businesses might need to hire around 10,200 extra cashiers, which could cost grocery retailers nearly $500 million more annually. That’s a hefty price tag that could lead to higher prices at the checkout for all of us.
David Wilkinson from NCR Voyix, a company specializing in retail tech, isn’t thrilled about this proposal. He argues that while tackling theft is crucial, this bill might just complicate things further. Instead of solving the theft problem, it could annoy customers by reducing their choices and inflate operational costs. Plus, he’s worried that store associates could end up playing the role of security guards rather than assisting customers.
Economist Ryan Young and others think that enforcing existing shoplifting laws might be a better approach. They argue that self-checkouts can actually save businesses money, and it should be up to individual companies to decide if the risk of theft is worth those savings. On the other hand, some major retailers like Dollar General and Target are already scaling back on self-checkouts, hoping to curb theft and protect their profits.
As California’s legislature gears up to vote on this bill, it’s clear that the future of self-checkouts is hanging in the balance. Whether this bill will pass or not, it’s making waves across the retail world and sparking a debate on how best to tackle the issue of theft in an increasingly digital age……..
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Rising Dough
How do you think businesses balance the need to protect their assets against the desire to offer convenient, high-tech services like self-checkout stations?
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