A growing number of stores dropping automated checkout technology are either removing self-checkout machines or putting limits on how shoppers use them. Dollar General changed some or all of its self-checkout registers to assisted checkout in about 12,000 stores. Target limits self-checkout to 10 items at most of its stores, and Five Below has cut back on machines. Some Walmart stores have also brought back cashier lanes.
Still, self-checkout is not vanishing. A 2026 Toast survey of 340 small US retailers found that self-checkout use fell to 36%, down from 43% a year earlier. In the same survey, three in four retailers said they plan to spend more on technology. Stores are changing which tools they use and how they use them.
Amazon is a special case. It is closing its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, but its Just Walk Out technology is still running at other businesses.
Which US Stores Are Dropping or Limiting Automated Checkout?
Six retailers stand out, and each one took a different path. Some changed registers, some set item limits, and one is closing whole store brands. The table shows the type of change, and the sections below give the details.
| Retailer | What changed | Type of change |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar General | Changed some or all self-checkout registers to assisted checkout in about 12,000 stores | Converted and restricted |
| Five Below | Reduced the number of self-checkout registers | Scaled back |
| Target | Limited self-checkout to 10 items at most stores | Restricted |
| Walmart | Brought back staffed lanes at selected stores | Removed at some stores |
| Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh | Announced store closures in January 2026 | Stores closing |
| Schnucks | Limited self-checkout to 10 items | Restricted |
Dollar General Converted Self-Checkout in About 12,000 Stores
Dollar General described the change in a May 2024 filing with the SEC. The company said it was dealing with inventory shrink, which means stock that goes missing. It limited self-checkout to five items or fewer. It also changed some or all self-checkout registers to assisted checkout in about 12,000 stores.
The filing does not say every machine is gone. In assisted checkout, an employee takes part in the sale instead of the shopper doing everything alone. Dollar General also said it was putting more money into store labor. So the most accurate description is conversion plus item limits, not full removal.
Five Below Cut Back Self-Checkout to Fight Shrink
In March 2024, Five Below CEO Joel Anderson told analysts that the chain was losing more merchandise than expected. The company said it would limit the number of self-checkout registers and reduce them in stores it saw as higher risk. Retail Dive reported the news.
Five Below also raised store payroll and hired more store associates. At some locations, it added receipt checks and security guards. The company did not say it would remove self-checkout from every store, so this was a pullback built around more staff and security.
Target Set a 10-Item Limit Instead of Removing Self-Checkout
Target launched Express Self-Checkout in March 2024. At most of its nearly 2,000 stores, self-checkout is now meant for 10 items or fewer. Shoppers with bigger baskets use staffed lanes.
In May 2025, Target reported that total checkout transaction times improved by nearly 8%. Its wait-time score rose 5 points, and its employee-interaction score rose 3 points. Those are the company’s own results. They suggest that limited self-checkout can work well for small trips.
Walmart Removed Self-Checkout at Some Stores, Not All
The clearest 2026 example is in South Philadelphia. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Walmart on South Christopher Columbus Boulevard brought back staffed checkout lanes in March 2026. It was one of five Walmart stores in the city, and the only one to make the change.
Walmart linked the decision to customer feedback, associate feedback, local shopping patterns, and business needs. The store kept some self-checkout lanes for Spark delivery drivers. Reports so far describe store-by-store changes, not one nationwide policy.
Amazon Is Closing Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh Stores
On January 27, 2026, Amazon said it would close its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores. Some locations will become Whole Foods Market stores. Amazon said it had not found the customer experience and business model it needed to grow these store brands on a large scale.
Closing the stores did not end Just Walk Out. In May 2026, Amazon said the technology was running at more than 360 third-party locations in five countries. It was also in use in the breakrooms of over 40 Amazon fulfillment centers in North America.
Just Walk Out uses cameras and sensors to track what shoppers pick up, so it is different from a self-checkout kiosk. Amazon Dash Cart is another separate product. News reports said that in 2024, Amazon had already taken Just Walk Out out of its Fresh grocery stores.
Schnucks Limited Self-Checkout to 10 Items
Schnucks, a grocery chain, set a 10-item limit for self-checkout in February 2024. The rule applies at its stores that have self-checkout. Shoppers with larger baskets go to staffed lanes.
The company pointed to checkout speed, customer service, and theft prevention as reasons. Like Target, it kept the machines for small purchases.
What Does 2026 Data Say About Self-Checkout Use?
Self-checkout use is falling among small US retailers. In a Toast survey of 340 operators, 36% said they use self-checkout in 2026, down from 43% in 2025. The survey covered convenience stores, grocery stores, and bottle shops with 16 or fewer locations. It ran from April 3 to April 20, 2026, and Toast reports a margin of error of about 5 percentage points.
This is a small-business sample, so it cannot show what all US stores are doing. Large chains such as Walmart and Target were not part of it. The same survey found that 75% of retailers plan to spend more on technology, and 88% think AI can make their business more efficient. About 46% use electronic shelf labels, up 11 points from the year before, and another 46% use order-ready boards, up 9 points.
Why Are Stores Dropping Automated Checkout Technology?
The main reasons are inventory losses, the staff needed to supervise machines, customer frustration, and running costs. Not every store faces the same mix. A discount chain with small baskets has different problems than a grocery store with full carts.
Inventory Shrink and Missed Scans
Shrink is the gap between the stock a store thinks it has and what it really has. It includes theft, but it also includes scanning mistakes, damaged goods, and bad inventory records. At self-checkout, a shopper can miss a scan, pick the wrong produce code, or skip an item on purpose.
A 2026 report from ECR Retail Loss studied 39 retailers with about €1 trillion in combined annual sales. It found that average losses rose 22% in the year after self-checkout was installed. It also found that losses were 33% higher in stores with self-checkout than in stores without it. These figures come from retailers in several countries, not only the US, and they do not prove that self-checkout alone caused the losses.
Missed scans are not always theft. A LendingTree survey of 2,050 US consumers found that 27% of self-checkout users said they had intentionally taken an item without scanning it. Another 36% said they had accidentally left with an unscanned item. These are self-reported answers, not verified records of retail theft.
Machines Still Need Workers
Self-checkout does not remove the need for staff. Workers approve age-restricted items, fix barcode problems, answer alerts, and check unusual transactions. When several machines need help at once, one worker can fall behind. A store that hoped to save on labor may still need steady coverage near the machines.
Customer Frustration and Slow Checkout
Self-checkout works best when the shopper has a few items and the machine runs smoothly. Common complaints include scanning errors, weight alerts, payment failures, and waiting for an employee to step in. Some shoppers also dislike receipt checks after they pay. One slow trip can wipe out the time the machine was supposed to save, which is part of why item limits like Target’s have caught on.
Costs That Are Hard to Pin Down
Machines cost money beyond the purchase price. Stores pay for software, repairs, payment hardware, security tools, and worker time. No public figure shows what the average retailer saves or loses on self-checkout, and results change with store size and sales volume. Some stores still find that machines shorten lines for small purchases.
Are Any US Laws Limiting Self-Checkout?
Yes, in a few places. There is no single nationwide rule, but a city and a state have set limits on item counts, staffing, and access. These rules apply only inside those areas.
Long Beach, California
Long Beach approved its ordinance on August 12, 2025, and it took effect on September 11, 2025. It covers grocery and drug stores in the city. Self-checkout purchases are capped at 15 items, and each store must keep at least one staffed lane open.
An employee must supervise self-checkout, and that worker cannot have conflicting duties. Stores with two or more stations need at least one employee for every three stations. Some age-restricted and theft-prone items cannot be bought at self-checkout at all.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island signed its grocery self-checkout law on June 18, 2026. The law takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Grocery stores must provide at least one staffed checkout lane for every three self-checkout stations in operation. A store may operate no more than eight self-checkout stations at a time.
During peak hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., stores must also keep at least one self-checkout station that meets Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards. Employees assigned to monitor self-checkout stations must be relieved of other duties, including operating a staffed checkout lane.
The law does not ban self-checkout. It sets limits on the number of machines and requires grocery stores to provide more staffed checkout support.
What Is Replacing Traditional Self-Checkout?
There is no single replacement. Stores are trying several tools, and what they pick depends on the retailer and the kind of store. These tools are not the same thing, so it helps to keep them apart.
Smart Shopping Carts
Amazon Dash Cart is one example. Shoppers place items in the cart, and built-in technology tracks what they add. This can make totals easier to follow and reduce the need for a separate checkout step. Stores need the carts, software, and store systems to support it.
Mobile Scan and Go
With scan and go, shoppers scan items with their phones while they shop and pay in an app. Walmart Scan & Go, which is offered to Walmart+ members, is one example. It cuts down on time at the register, but shoppers need a smartphone and some comfort with the app. Stores still need ways to check that purchases are correct.
Cashierless Checkout
Amazon Just Walk Out is a cashierless system. Cameras, sensors, and software figure out what a shopper takes, so nobody scans anything at a kiosk. That makes it a different tool from self-checkout, where the shopper scans and pays at a machine. It fits places where people buy a few items fast.
RFID Checkout
RFID uses tags that a reader can pick up through radio signals. A system can read several tagged items at once instead of scanning one barcode at a time. It can also help with stock tracking. But products need tags, and stores need readers, so it suits some product types better than others.
Assisted and Hybrid Checkout
Many retailers mix staffed lanes, limited self-checkout, and other tools. A store might keep machines for 10 items or fewer and send bigger baskets to cashiers. Target and Schnucks already work this way. The idea is to match the checkout method to the size of the trip.
Are Stores Bringing Back Cashiers?
Some are, at specific stores. That does not mean every cashier job that was cut is coming back. When a store changes its checkout setup, workers may move to other jobs, such as helping shoppers, watching self-checkout, handling inventory, or filling online orders.
Shopper views are split, which is one reason stores keep both options. In an April 2026 YouGov survey of 5,991 US adults, 46% said they would pick self-checkout if the lines were equal. Another 44% would pick a cashier, and 10% were not sure. A separate Toast survey of 1,000 US adults in 2025 found that 55% preferred a cashier and 38% preferred self-checkout.
The two surveys asked different questions, so their results are hard to compare directly. YouGov asked about equal lines, while Toast asked about general preference. Together they show that shoppers do not agree on one best way to pay.
Is Self-Checkout Going Away Completely?
No. The changes at Dollar General, Five Below, Target, Walmart, and Schnucks show that some stores are cutting back or setting limits. They do not show that machines are leaving all US stores. Dollar General converted registers, Five Below cut machines, Target and Schnucks set item limits, and Walmart’s removal was store by store.
Self-checkout still carries a large share of sales where it is installed. In ECR’s data, about 54% of transactions at stores with self-checkout went through it. Amazon also keeps selling Just Walk Out to other businesses, and Target reports good results from its 10-item model.
Based on these moves, stores will likely keep a mix of staffed lanes, limited self-checkout, and newer tools. That is an expectation, not a company announcement. Where a store lands will depend on its basket size, its shoppers, its staffing, and its costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stores are dropping automated checkout technology?
Dollar General, Five Below, Target, Walmart, Schnucks, and Amazon have all made changes, but not the same ones. Dollar General converted registers, Five Below cut machines, and Target and Schnucks set item limits. Some Walmart stores removed self-checkout, and Amazon is closing its Go and Fresh stores.
Is Walmart getting rid of self-checkout?
Not everywhere. Walmart brought back staffed lanes at a South Philadelphia store in March 2026, but reports describe store-by-store changes, not a nationwide removal.
Did Dollar General remove self-checkout from 12,000 stores?
No. Dollar General said it changed some or all self-checkout registers to assisted checkout in about 12,000 stores. It also limited self-checkout to five items or fewer.
Is Amazon ending Just Walk Out?
No. Amazon is closing its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, but Just Walk Out is still used at more than 360 third-party locations, according to Amazon’s May 2026 update.
Why are stores removing self-checkout machines?
The reasons include inventory shrink, missed scans, the staff needed to supervise machines, customer complaints, and running costs. The mix differs by retailer.
What is replacing self-checkout?
There is no single replacement. Stores use staffed lanes, assisted checkout, smart carts, mobile scan and go, cashierless systems, and RFID, often in combination.
Is self-checkout going away in 2026?
No. Use among small retailers fell from 43% to 36% in the Toast survey, but major chains like Target still use it. The changes so far are cutbacks and limits, not an end to the technology.
You Might Also Like:
China AI Bubble Burst: Why $480 Billion Was Wiped Out
CMA USA Syllabus and Real-World Application in MNC Finance Teams
I’m Emma Rose, the founder of Punstation. I cover technology, digital trends, business, and online tools, creating practical guides and thoughtful reviews to help readers understand their options and make informed decisions. For more on how I approach my content, see our Editorial Standards.