Have you started to notice the disappearance of self-checkout lanes at some of your favorite retailers? Plagued by a national wave of shoplifting and “shrinkage” (the industry term for merchandise that goes missing), many brick-and-mortar stores are bringing back human cashiers. Target, Walmart, Costco and Five Below have all begun placing new restrictions on self-checkout lanes, while some stores are moving to eliminate them altogether. And with good reason: Recent data shows that shrinkage — whether intentional or due to human error — is three to four times higher when customers scan their own bar codes.
