Walmart Makes Sudden Self-Checkout Decision After Alarming Police Data
Walmart is pulling back on one of its biggest retail experiments after eye-opening data from police revealed just how costly self-checkout can be.
At a Supercenter in Shrewsbury, Missouri, Walmart abruptly removed all self-checkout machines—permanently.
The decision came after years of frequent police calls tied to theft at the store, which local law enforcement says dropped dramatically after the kiosks were removed.
According to the Webster-Kirkwood Times, the Shrewsbury Police Department responded to 509 calls from the Walmart location between January and May of last year. During the same period this year, after the self-checkouts were removed, those calls dropped to just 183. Arrests fell by more than half, from 108 to just 49.
"That's a huge change," said Police Chief Lisa Vargas. "We really appreciate Walmart taking initiative and removing those self-checkers."
While many major retailers once hailed self-checkout as the future of shopping, the reality has proven far more complicated.
Customers frequently struggle with the machines, and some simply skip the scanning process altogether. The Mirror reported that Christopher Andrews, author of The Overworked Consumer, explained that stores initially viewed the technology as a labor-saving breakthrough, but it backfired.
"They ended up realizing that they're not saving money, they're losing money," Andrews said.
The move in Missouri isn't isolated. Walmart has also removed self-checkouts from a location in Cleveland, Ohio, and is reportedly reconsidering its broader strategy.Frustration among customers over slow, glitchy machines has compounded the issue. And with theft rising across many retailers, automated checkout lanes have become a high-risk gamble.
Still, Walmart isn't giving up on innovation altogether.
The company is testing Scan & Go technology at select Sam's Club locations. That model uses a mobile app to tally purchases in real-time, combining QR codes and AI to reduce shrink while offering speed and convenience to shoppers.Whether that system proves more efficient—or more secure—remains to be seen. But for now, one thing is clear: at least one Walmart is thriving without self-checkout. And police say the data speaks for itself.Walmart Makes Sudden Self-Checkout Decision After Alarming Police Data first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 20, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
36 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Billions of login credentials have been leaked online, Cybernews researchers say
NEW YORK — Researchers at cybersecurity outlet Cybernews say that billions of login credentials have been leaked and compiled into datasets online, giving criminals 'unprecedented access' to accounts consumers use each day. According to a report published this week, Cybernews researchers have recently discovered 30 exposed datasets that each contain a vast amount of login information — amounting to a total of 16 billion compromised credentials. That includes user passwords for a range of popular platforms including Google, Facebook and Apple.
Bloomberg
38 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bezel Disrupting the Luxury Re-Sale Watch Market
Since being founded in 2022, Bezel has become a heavy hitter in the luxury watch re-sale market. Quaid Walker, Bezel's Co-Founder & CEO, joined Bloomberg Open Interest on Friday with Matt Miller and Katie Greifeld. (Source: Bloomberg)
Forbes
43 minutes ago
- Forbes
These 5 Below Book Value REITs Are Paying Dividends
Below book value REITs getty These five real estate investment trusts trade below their book value and they all pay dividends. They represent the diversity found among REITs: one has a multifamily-oriented approach. One favors mortgage assets. Another is involved in real estate projects for the regulated cannabis industry. The market caps vary widely as well. The smallest has market capitalization of just over $128 million. The largest has a market cap of $5.94 billion. Several of these names are components of the Russell 2000 small caps exchange traded fund. All are New York Stock Exchange listed Angel Oak Mortgage REIT. Angel Oak Mortgage weekly price chart, 6 20 25. This real estate investment trust is involved mortgage-related assets including non-conventional loans (known as non-QM). Angel Oak has a market cap of $213.39 million. It's a holding of the Russell 2000 small caps ETF. The REIT trades at 85% of its book value and pays a 14.10% dividend. The current price of $9.09 is below a down-trending 50-day moving average and below the mid-2024 peak of just above $11.50. Apple Hospitality REIT. Apple Hospitality REIT weekly price chart, 6 20 25. Apple Hospitality is a hotel and motel REIT with a market cap of $2.76 billion. It's a Russell 2000 small caps ETF holding. Now trading at a 14% discount to book, Apple pays a dividend of 8.42%. The price-earnings ratio is 14.64. The debt-to-equity ratio is .51. The weekly chart shows that the price in April 2025 took out the previous low from September 2022. It's bounced since then but the 50-week moving average just crossed below the 200-week moving average, a sign of the recent underlying weakness. Innovative Industrial Properties. Innovative Industrial Properties weekly price chart, 6 20 25. This REIT invests in the real estate properties of the state-licensed cannabis industry. The market cap is $1.61 billion. Innovative Industrial is a holding of the Russell 2000 small caps ETF. It's available for purchase at 86% of its book value. The company offers investors a 12.24% dividend. The price currently trades below both the 50-week and the 200-week moving averages. In April 2025, it dropped below the April 2023 low, a previous support level. Lument Finance Trust. Lument Finance Trust weekly price chart, 6 20 25. This one is a mortgage REIT with a market cap of just $130.55 million. It trades at a 25% discount to its book value. The dividend is 12.83%. The price-earnings ratio is 12.53 and the debt-to-equity ratio is 3.53. Lument Finance is lightly traded with an average daily volume of just 121,000 shares. The price is in an uptrend on the weekly chart above. Note that it trades above the 50-week and the 200-week moving averages. Rithm Capital. Rithm Capital weekly price chart, 6 20 25. Rithm Capital is another of the mortgage REITs. The market cap is $5.95 billion. It trades at a 9% discount to book value with a price-earnings ratio of 9.37. The debt-to-equity ratio is 4.34. Rithm offers a 8.91% dividend. Piper Sandler in April upgraded their opinion of the REIT from 'neutral' to 'overweight.' On the weekly chart above, you can see how the price is in an uptrend, now trading above the 50-week and the 200-week moving averages. Stats courtesy of Charts courtesy of No artificial intelligence was used in the writing of this post. More analysis and commentary at
