A consequence of the ever-expanding wave of automation but really I don't think self checkout is terribly efficient for larger trolley loads unless you have someone with you to help with the bagging (and you actually have the room to do so). Otherwise it takes twice as long. Generally I only use self checkout if I only have a handful of items, or a few large things like bags of cat litter or something like that. Otherwise I feel like I'm needlessly holding everyone up.

If it's the only one open, then the store has not left you a choice. My main problem with it is when there are multiple aisles open, I only have a loaf of bread or something, it's 5:30pm on a weekday when everyone's grabbing stuff for dinner on their way home from work and someone with a full bloody trolley rolls up to the express aisle instead of waiting their turn like everyone else.

And there is one big differentiator between most Brits and most Americans. Most (not all) Americans don't care about those behind them. It's a culture thing.

Well, I'm doing my part anyway. When I'm at the shops I like to get in and out quickly, and if in so doing I make it possible for someone behind me to do the same, then it's a minor victory for the hassled errand-runners everywhere.

That maybe the case in 'big ticket' stores like Home Depot, where most items are RFID (or similar) tagged, but is not the case in supermarkets. It's not financially feasible to tag a $1 item. And how many times do you see anyone actually caring about the alarms at exits? I've had several experiences of walking out of a store and triggering an alarm; I stand there, look around for someone to help me resolve 'why', and they just wave me on. This has happened at both Home Depot and Best Buy.

As best as I can tell, the only 'cross-check' for accuracy is the weigh-scale approach - after scanning, you must place the item on the 'outbound' side of the line, where a scale detects a change in weight. But that gets thrown by extra-large or extra-heavy items. I was self-checking out at Costco the other day with big boxes of water; the machine specifically told me not to place the item in the 'outbound' area. But Costco do have a door-checker who quite carefully reviews every cart, unlike any other store I've ever shopped at. In fact, at my local Home Depot, they've changed the name of the 'self checkout' aisles to 'assisted' aisles, and there's always a person there supervising.

Waking up with a song in your head that remains there all day but you never have the whole thing. It's only ever about four words on continuous repeat

A....ga do do do, push pineapple, shake the tree...

No one's picked up on the stores, such as Stop 'n Shop, that give you a scanner wane to take with you as you shop and you scan your items before you place them in your cart and/or grocery bag. it automatically is charged to your debit/charge card as you shop.

Well you're off my christmas card list!

To the left, to the right......

I'm pretty sure Tesco back in England have this (at least they did when I was leaving etc!). Seems a neat idea, although I'd feel super conscious and feel like I'm stealing things scanning and popping them into a bag immediately on the store floor!

That's some five star clickbait right there.

Tesco had this when we were over last year, but we didn't try it. My sister said it works quite well though.

Waitrose had something similar before we moved over here in 05. You picked up a barcode reader at the start, clicked on every item you threw in the trolley but then you had to load the reader in a machine at the checkout and pay that way. No idea if they still do it.

That might be the way the ones in Tesco worked as well now I think of it. I was only going off what my sister told me at the time, and I was only half listening anyway.

If I recall Wal Mart experimented with a scan and go app last year, where shoppers scanned as they shopped and either skipped a check out or only had to pay at the check out.

They seemed to have stopped however after a few months.

Was only in select stores.