Walmart customers are speaking out over a new checkout policy that’s making it harder to pay for groceries—and some say it’s bad enough to make them abandon full carts.
One lane, endless lines
Amber, a frequent Walmart shopper, shared her frustration on Facebook after visiting a store where only one checkout lane was open and just four self-checkout kiosks were available.
“The line wrapped all the way into the frozen food section,” she wrote. “We’re pretty patient waiting in line, but this was ridiculous.”
Amber claimed employees were “standing around” at closed lanes instead of helping ease the backup. Some shoppers became so fed up they talked about leaving behind hundreds of dollars in groceries. After complaints got louder, Walmart opened more lanes—but the damage to customer goodwill was done.
What’s behind the change?
Walmart has been tweaking its checkout process for years, trying to balance traditional cashier lanes with self-checkout. Store managers decide how many kiosks to keep open at a given time, but the adjustments have caused confusion and frustration.
In some locations, self-checkout lanes have been reduced or are available only to Walmart+ members. Other stores have experimented with a 15-item limit, leaving customers with big carts stuck waiting in a single cashier line.
The changes, according to Walmart, are part of an effort to “provide the best shopping experience possible,” not a crackdown on theft as some feared. Still, shoppers say these experiments often make the experience worse—not better.
How Walmart compares to other stores
Walmart isn’t alone in rethinking self-checkout. Target recently rolled out express self-checkout lanes limited to 10 items to speed things up. Trader Joe’s has famously avoided kiosks altogether, sticking with cashiers to keep the experience “more personal”.
Some Walmart stores went even further last year by blocking self-checkout kiosks during certain hours or testing new technology, such as RFID-powered checkout machines designed to eliminate receipt checks. That experiment was later dropped.
Now, states like Rhode Island are considering new laws that could limit how many self-checkouts large retailers can install. The bill would require stores to have one staffed register for every two kiosks to protect jobs and reduce wait times.
Why shoppers are angry
For many customers, the issue isn’t whether Walmart has self-checkout or traditional lanes—it’s finding the right balance. When too many kiosks are reserved for paying members or limited to small orders, regular shoppers feel pushed aside.
“About 60% of the self-checkouts were blocked for Walmart+,” Amber said of her recent trip. “If you had a full cart, you were out of luck.”
Other shoppers have voiced similar complaints, saying the constant changes make it unclear where to go or how long they’ll have to wait. The result: growing frustration and viral social media posts calling Walmart’s checkout process “a mess”.
Could this drive customers away?
Some shoppers say they’re willing to walk out rather than stand in line for an hour. Others do argue that Walmart is risking its reputation as the fastest, cheapest place to shop.
The tension highlights a bigger problem retailers face: how to modernise checkout without alienating customers who expect convenience.
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What’s next?
Walmart insists it’s testing different setups to see what works best. A spokesperson told The US Sun that these changes are store-by-store decisions designed to improve speed and efficiency.
Still, customers like Amber aren’t convinced. “This is what we’ve come to at Walmart—one lane open and endless lines,” she said. “They need to figure it out before people stop shopping here.”
As Walmart and other retailers continue experimenting, shoppers are left wondering: Will checkout ever get easier—or just more confusing?
