In terms of Walmart, my experience with one that is only self-checkout (2 staffed registers remain but are usually not open) is that:
* The computers are extremely fast (or at least don't feel sluggish like some at Kroger do)
* There is no "unexpected item in the bagging area" nor "please put the item in the bagging area" (They probably mark items that will often not be bagged)
* I can constantly add and remove items from the weighted scale and put them in the cart without any interruption
* Checkout with the many options is fast both for Walmart pay and traditional payments that don't use Walmart pay.
The system does "move people like cattle" but that's evidently all Walmart thinks their stores should be doing. From my points above, they're doing their best to make the system "work" for their customers and more importantly investors.
I know this isn't a good thing for other types of people - Walmart doing this will make other stores also attempt to implement this type of thing to stay competitive on prices and margins or at least "not lag behind in technology". This system will most likely be not meet the customer satisfaction levels Walmart can, so these competitors will either
A. Lose customers due to a frustrating experience [in relation to W]
B. Lose customers due to higher prices [in relation to W]
C. Lose customers due to the loss of the "personal touch" some people like when checking out
The only stores this won't happen at is probably Publix and more local offerings. Publix charges noticeably higher prices for almost everything compared to both Kroger and Walmart for me, but I see how they're still in business:
1. the extremely friendly staff
2. policy for baggers to offer taking customers' groceries out if it's not too busy
3. having dedicated baggers at all
Although I observe the demographic to be mostly boomers which are phasing out; Millenials and Zoomers (Gen Z) are already caught up in the desensitizing internet culture, desensitizing the checkout process won't have a big negative effect on them, especially since it's just iterating on the self-serve checkout machines that have been around for years already.
* The computers are extremely fast (or at least don't feel sluggish like some at Kroger do)
* There is no "unexpected item in the bagging area" nor "please put the item in the bagging area" (They probably mark items that will often not be bagged)
* I can constantly add and remove items from the weighted scale and put them in the cart without any interruption
* Checkout with the many options is fast both for Walmart pay and traditional payments that don't use Walmart pay.
The system does "move people like cattle" but that's evidently all Walmart thinks their stores should be doing. From my points above, they're doing their best to make the system "work" for their customers and more importantly investors.
I know this isn't a good thing for other types of people - Walmart doing this will make other stores also attempt to implement this type of thing to stay competitive on prices and margins or at least "not lag behind in technology". This system will most likely be not meet the customer satisfaction levels Walmart can, so these competitors will either
A. Lose customers due to a frustrating experience [in relation to W]
B. Lose customers due to higher prices [in relation to W]
C. Lose customers due to the loss of the "personal touch" some people like when checking out
The only stores this won't happen at is probably Publix and more local offerings. Publix charges noticeably higher prices for almost everything compared to both Kroger and Walmart for me, but I see how they're still in business:
1. the extremely friendly staff
2. policy for baggers to offer taking customers' groceries out if it's not too busy
3. having dedicated baggers at all
Although I observe the demographic to be mostly boomers which are phasing out; Millenials and Zoomers (Gen Z) are already caught up in the desensitizing internet culture, desensitizing the checkout process won't have a big negative effect on them, especially since it's just iterating on the self-serve checkout machines that have been around for years already.