• Uriel238 [all pronouns]
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    110 months ago

    I believe they were introduced as an inventory control mechanism, though they got way worse as customer-supplied bags became the norm.

    • @[email protected]
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      110 months ago

      But they already know what is sold by the scanned barcodes. What do the scales add to that?

      • Uriel238 [all pronouns]
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        110 months ago

        It allows them to confirm what you bought is the same as what you scanned. It also makes sure you didn’t miss-count your multiple items. (Either double-scanning an item or failing to scan an item.)

        Having now lived in lower-class areas and gentrified areas, stores that can afford a self-checkout kiosk tend to trust poor people less. (At the same time, they over-estimate their losses from theft or accidental shrinkage).

        • @[email protected]
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          210 months ago

          Here they just do random bag checks. When you press ‘pay’ there is a chance you get a notification to wait for an employee to check your bag. They then scan a random number of items from your bag (up to 10) and see if it matches what you scanned.