Target announced last week its plans to crack down on bigger purchases at its store’s self-checkout lines, putting in a 10 items or less limit for customers.
The retailer shared the news on Thursday, saying that if customers have more than 10 items, they will have to purchase their products from a human cashier before leaving the store.
The “Express Self-Checkout” lanes hit stores on Sunday at most of Target’s 2,000 locations. The program was tested at 200 stores last fall, and Target shared that at those locations self-checkout was twice as fast.
During the pandemic, Target made major investments in its self-checkout options, looking to limit human interaction, prevent the spread of the virus, and save on labor costs.
However, recent surveys have found that self-checkout enables more customer theft. One LendingTree survey from last year found that 15% of self-checkout users purposely stole goods, and 44% of those who stole said they would do it again.
Still, Target maintains that its reasoning for limiting the number of items at self-checkout counters is to improve the speed at which customers can get out once done with their shopping.
In response to the self-checkout limit, Target is also planning on opening more employee-staffed checkout lanes for customers. Target also shared that store managers will designate self-checkout lanes’ hours based on the foot traffic patterns at their stores.
“We’ll continue evolving to match guests with the right checkout options so they can get what they need,” Target said in its announcement.
The news also comes weeks after Target announced its plans for a new paid membership program called Target Circle 360. The program is expected to launch in April and will cost $99 per year.
Through the program customers will have access to unlimited free same-day delivery for orders over $35 and free two-day shipping, along with other perks.