Report: Delaware ShopRite Stores Transitioning Primarily to Self-Checkout

The grocery store chain ShopRite is replacing many of the cashier-run checkout lines in its Delaware stores with self-checkout stations, according to a Delaware News Journal report.

The change makes ShopRite the first grocery store chain in the state to transition to primarily self-checkout registers, the outlet reports. Some stores have already made the switch, including locations at the Four Seasons Plaza in Glasgow and the Chestnut Hill Plaza in Ogletown. All six stores in the state are scheduled to make the switch by year’s end, employees tell the Delaware News Journal.

The new setup is similar to traditional grocery store checkout lines. The self-service stations include conveyor belts and have more space for customers to operate in comparison to other grocery stores’ self-checkout stations, according to the Delaware News Journal.

Karen O’Shea, a spokesperson from ShopRite’s parent company, Wakefern Food Corp, provided the Delaware News Journal with a statement on the transition.

“The decision to convert to self-checkout/fast lanes at our six stores was driven by customer demand for the amenity and our goal to provide the best possible checkout experience,” O’Shea said.

She stated that the change would not eliminate jobs, and the company is looking to hire employees for front-end jobs and additional positions throughout the stores. O’Shea said employees will be around to help customers that need assistance with the self-checkout system, and ShopRite is “keeping some dedicated queues for traditional checkout.”

“New technology and upgrades at the front-end offer our customers a more open and convenient layout as they checkout and leave the store,” O’Shea told the Delaware News Journal. “We embrace technology that helps our customers have a better shopping experience but also understand the importance of the human touch and personal service.”

Customers have taken to social media to share their displeasure regarding the change.

One disgruntled Facebook user, who says she is a customer, voiced her irritation and tagged the Four Seasons Plaza ShopRite. “I had a cart full of groceries and when I went to check out noticed they removed all of the cashiers and only have self checkout lines,” the woman wrote. “Needless to say I will not be going back to ShopRite.”

“Employees standing around while you check out your own groceries is some BS,” she added.

Some customers, who are accustomed to using self-checkout, say they did not even notice a change, according to the Delaware News Journal.

The outlet reports:

Emerging technology could lead to further changes. The most extreme example is Amazon’s “Amazon Go Grocery” stores in major U.S. cities such as New York, Chicago and Seattle. The stores don’t have checkout lines.

Instead, its “just walk out” technology detects when products are removed from shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When customers are done shopping, they leave the store and their Amazon account is charged.

The “just walk out” technology “is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning,” Amazon states.