By Gina Horan
Leesburg Walmart To Eliminate Most Self-Checkout Stations
Leesburg, FL – The buzz around town today centers on the Walmart Supercenter located on Citrus Boulevard. In a surprising move, the popular retail giant has announced plans to phase out most of its self-checkout lanes in favor of adding more cashiers lanes.
(Shoppers were greeted with a Lane Closed banner with most of the self-checkout machines turned off. We are hearing most of these machines are going to be turned off for good due to stealing issues.)
The decision, which is expected to be implemented in the near future, marks a significant shift in the store’s operational strategy. For years, the self-checkout option has been a convenience many shoppers have come to rely on, offering a quicker, more autonomous shopping experience. However, Walmart’s management believes that enhancing customer service through a greater number of cashiers will ultimately benefit shoppers and improve their overall experience.
Local residents have mixed reactions to the news. Some people like this change while others enjoy the often quicker self-checkout lanes. We also talked to a Walmart manager at The Villages location in Oxford “We don’t see that happening here in Oxford anytime soon as we have not had any problems,” says the manager who wanted to remain anonymous.
(The Walmart in Leesburg has had issues of people stealing. This is the reason for the change.)
“We have had some issues with people stealing some things so it’s not a surprise this is happening,” says an anonymous employee at the Leesburg Walmart location.
The upcoming changes also raise questions about how it will impact shopping habits. Will the increased number of cashiers lead to shorter lines and quicker service, or will the absence of self-checkout options cause delays for those used to the swift, do-it-yourself approach? At this time only four self-checkout lanes remain open.
How do you feel about Walmart’s decision to eliminate self-checkout lanes and add more cashiers? Will this affect the way you shop? Let us know what you think!
Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with us as this story continues to unfold.
Photo Credit – Matthew Gaulin
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Gina moved to central Florida in August of 2021 from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and spent 10 years as a fashion editor, columnist and food writer for The Knight Ridder Newspaper group. She was also a photo stylist and covered concerts, fashion shows and festivals all over Northern California. In 2000, she joined KSAN radio as a morning show co-host and produced the news and sports content there for 4 years. She also covered travel, events and the restaurant scene for KRON-Bay TV. She is a veteran bartender and has worked in hospitality on and off since high school. Her passions include travel, road trips, history books, baseball, tasting menus and most of all, landing in a new city with no map or guidebook. Gina lives in Oxford with her mom, cats and baby hamster.
SO its just ELDERLY people stealing!?? I doubt that……And I am amazed they ever thought it would work in the first place….did you actually have to try it to see how stupid an idea this was?? I could have walked out with half the stuff Ive gotten there using self checkout…they cant and dont keep an eye on everyone….
Love it! Creates a more personal experience.
Mixed feelings. On 1 hand I like the self check out because it is faster and I bag my stuff WAY BETTER than cashiers. I usually come home with about half the amount of plastic bags. On the other hand I am sick and tired of getting stopped at the door so an employee can check my receipt to make sure I rang everything up. Here’s a tip… it’s not the large unbagged items you have to worry about. Either trust me to do your job for free or get behind a register. You can’t have it both ways.
After all, if you can’t buy one, take one, what’s the point of self-checkout?
It’s about time. I saw way too much theft going on in self checkout.
What idiot thought self-checkout wasn’t going to result in massive theft? That person should be fired, or at least reassigned to checkout duty.
I had rather see more cashiers. I don’t want to check out my stuff every time I shop.