Dollar General Shifts 12,000 Stores Away from Self-Checkout Due to Thefts

Dollar General is taking drastic steps to end the retail theft that has been plaguing its stores across the nation.

The company is planning to remove specific items that thieves regularly grab. In addition, CEO Todd Vasos said the company is shifting away from self-checkouts, Fox Business reported Tuesday.

“As part of its plan, the chief executive said the company converted approximately 3,000 additional stores away from self-checkout in May, totaling 12,000 total locations that have been converted since the beginning of the fiscal year,” the outlet stated.

Video footage from 2022 shows the shocking measures some grocery stores have taken to combat “out of control” shoplifting, per Inside Edition:

Retailers have been grappling with major problems due to increasing shoplifting and stealing incidents occurring at self-checkouts, Breitbart News reported in December.

The outlet noted:

Recent trends and reports indicate a growing unease among both retailers and customers. A primary concern is the notable increase in shoplifting incidents. Self-checkout systems, relying on customers to scan and register their purchases, inadvertently create opportunities for theft. Even law-abiding citizens might be tempted to under-scan items or input incorrect product codes, not to mention outright shoplifting attempts.

Safeway recently decided to remove self-checkouts from some of its locations in the Bay Area of California due to problems with theft, according to Breitbart News.

In another move to stop thieves, the parent company of major retailer T.J. Maxx has begun outfitting workers with body cameras as a security measure, the outlet reported Thursday.

Per the Fox Business report regarding Dollar General, “The company had outlined a plan in March to remove self-checkout registers from 300 stores that had the biggest issue with shrink during the first half of the year.”

The term “shrink” is used to identify lost or stolen items.

“The company also announced it was converting self-checkout registers to assisted-checkout options in approximately 9,000 stores as it sought to change its self-checkout strategy,” the report stated.