Grocery chain Safeway is removing self-checkout kiosks from several stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, citing retail theft as a growing problem.
The move by Safeway comes after one of its locations in Oakland, California, already did away with the self-checkout machines, replacing them with a display of soda cans. Other Safeway stores in California cities such as San Francisco and Emeryville have also removed their self-checkout kiosks, with an unspecified number of stores now planning to remove theirs.
“Operational changes have been made at select stores throughout the Bay Area given the increasing amount of theft,” a statement from Safeway read. “Self-checkout kiosks have been removed at a few stores. Like other local businesses, we are working on ways to curtail escalating theft so we can ensure the well-being of our employees and foster a welcoming environment for our customers.”
Amid the grocery store chain’s fight against retail theft, a California bill aims to combat this problem by banning self-checkout options. The bill, Senate Bill 1446, would “prohibit a grocery or retail drug establishment from providing a self-service checkout option” unless certain conditions are met, such as ensuring that no more than two self-service checkout stations are monitored by one employee.
It is not clear if Safeway plans to remove self-checkout kiosks in additional cities. Albertsons, the chain’s parent company, has stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia.
A number of other grocery chains are also having second thoughts on self-checkout lanes, including Walmart and Costco. The former chain has removed self-checkout lanes at several stores in New Mexico, while Costco stated last year that it would be adding more staff to its self-checkout lanes to stop customers from stealing.
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Stores in the United States and Europe using self-checkout lanes and apps had a loss rate of about 4%, according to a study. Costco management has stated that its loss of merchandise due to theft has increased “in part, we believe, due to the rollout of self-checkout.”
The Washington Examiner has contacted Safeway and its parent company, Albertsons Companies Inc., for comment.