Whisper it to Walmart’s (WMT) nice new friends at the Nasdaq stock exchange, but the retail giant -which now wants to be seen as a tech company – is scrapping self-service tills.
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Humans Not Machines
Not all of them of course, but it appears the number of stores where Walmart is replacing the self-checkout kiosks with traditional lanes staffed with real human beings is growing.
According to an article on MSN, Walmart is removing self-checkout kiosks at select locations, including two stores in Shrewsbury, Missouri, and Cleveland, in favor of associate-staffed checkout lines. This is on top of the retailer already removing self-checkout lanes from three stores in New Mexico last year.
It’s being done because some customers feel more comfortable interacting with a human being, perhaps even having a real face-to-face conversation. Ask your Mum and Dad.
Sometimes the self-checkout technology can react badly if you have the temerity to put an item in the ‘wrong packing area.’ Perhaps your product doesn’t scan properly leaving you pointing at a flashing screen for many minutes before a staff member comes to the rescue.
But it’s not just good old wholesome incompetence happening in the self-checkout aisle. Apparently nearly a fifth of consumers admit to using self-checkout to steal.
Indeed, Walmart reportedly has seen theft calls to the police fall 11% after removing those self-checkout kiosks.
Tech Flexibility
It seems a surprising move for a company which joined the Nasdaq earlier this month, has partnered with OpenAI this year and developed products such as its GenAI chatbot Sparky.
But it is not the only retailer making a small move to something more human. Target (TGT) has also limited the number of items going through its self-checkout lane and Dollar General (DG) is also looking to reduce self-checkout numbers.
What analysts believe these companies are doing is judging the effectiveness of self-checkout on a store by store basis. Some locations, for example in an urban environment may be more prone to shoplifting than those in a rural location. It’s all about flexibility.
So don’t worry Nasdaq. Walmart tech is not dead. Indeed, A Dallas-area Sam’s Club will soon have no checkout lanes at all. Instead, consumers will use a smartphone app called “Scan & Go” that allows them to scan a barcode with their phone, pay for the item through the app, and then either have the item delivered or arrange for curbside pickup.
Is WMT a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, WMT has a Strong Buy consensus based on 26 Buy ratings. Itshighest price target is $136. WMT stock’s consensus price target is $122.32, implying a 5.36% upside.
