Self-checkout requires just 10% the amount of labor of staffed checked out lines:

Despite the fact that self-checkout systems can cause issues on both the retailer and shopper end of the transaction, it’s likely that the method is not only here to stay, but will become even more ubiquitous. According to the Wall Street Journal, self-checkout represented 30% of all grocery transactions in 2021 (up from 18% in 2018), and self-checkout machines are now at 96% of the 38,000 retail stores surveyed by The Food Industry Association.

The labor shortage is a driving force behind the expansion of these machines.

Source: We’re in a Self-Checkout Stalemate

I am so old, I remember when we did grocery checkout and a 2nd person, often a teen worker, bagged the groceries as the check out clerk tallied our bill.

Coldstreams