Self-Checkout Is a Failed Experiment

Self-checkout is not a delightful experience. Goods don’t always scan properly. The system stalls if you don’t put a scanned item in the right place. Double scanning an item, or buying something that requires validation, or getting an error requires waiting for a human employee to help you anyway. Self-checkout, in other words, usually sucks.

A growing number of retailers have begun to realize this and made moves to compensate for it. “Walmart has removed the kiosks entirely from a handful of sto...