Morrisons and Asda, two UK-based supermarket chains, have announced changes to their self-checkout systems in response to customer feedback and concerns about shoplifting.

Morrisons has announced plans to remove self-checkout tills from select stores and replace them with manned checkouts. The company plans to review the “balance between self-checkouts and manned tills,” with plans to reduce self-checkouts in around 20 stores initially. The company has already removed four self-checkouts at one location in  Brough, Yorkshire. 

Meanwhile,  Asda plans to invest GBP 30 million (USD 39 million) to increase staffed checkouts. The investment will focus on increasing staff hours at existing checkouts rather than adding new ones.

Analyst Quick Take: Morrisons and Asda are the latest retailers to scale down their self-checkout offerings. In July, the discount retailer Dollar General removed self-checkouts from nearly 12,000 of its stores, and Target announced plans to restrict the use of self-checkouts to customers purchasing 10 items or fewer. Meanwhile, Walmart and Safeway also recently removed self-checkout options from their stores in an effort to increase customer satisfaction and reduce shrinkage.