Target stores across the country to tighten their self-checkout rules
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Target stores are tightening their rules on self-checkout, now limiting customers to a certain amount of items in order to use the self-checkout lanes.
"The perception of customers in these instances is really about their experience," said Mike Porter, Professor of Marketing at the University of St. Thomas.
Changes are coming to how you shop at Target, specifically, how you check out.
"Plenty of justification to make this change," Porter explained.
A cap on number of items
The retail giant announced this week that changes are coming to self checkout in their stores. That includes a cap on the number of items you can have in those self checkout lanes; Target is capping that at ten.
The company says that's due to customer feedback, and to speed things up.
For those with fuller carts, target says they'll add more traditional lanes.
"Some people use the self checkouts, some people hate the self checkouts, some people are going to appreciate the fact that they're not in the self checkout line behind somebody that's got 97 items in their cart."
Mike Porter, Professor Of Marketing At The University Of St. Thomas
Reasons
Porter, studying the retail experience, says part of this change could be frustration over people using self checkout with too much in their carts. But he admits there could be another reason: Stores becoming the target for thieves.
"That will be reduced if you only have 10 items to keep track of. but certain people are doing it on purpose, and it's not organized, and it may not be high end dollars, but it all adds up."
Mike Porter, Professor Of Marketing At The University Of St. Thomas
Target didn't explicitly say theft was a reason for the change, and no one was available to comment on this. But last fall, Target CEO Brian Cornell was on CNBC, talking about how he has to find different ways to address theft saying, "I want to make it clear...This isn't a Target issue. This is a retail issue."
"It's not for us to decide, you know, how much of one or the other it is, one or the other is enough to make this change," Porter reasoned.
