Supermarket job vacancies continue to fall as more self-checkout machines are rolled out in stores across the UK.
According to new figures from employment company Adzuna, the amount of vacancies involving checkout workers now accounts for just under 15% of supermarket jobs, down from 58% in October 2016, The Telegraph reported.
Last October the number of checkout vacanies stood at 2,748, however, this has declined 26% to 2,020 this month – despite this being one of the busiest times for hiring ahead of the busy Christmas period, Adzuna said.
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However, the amount of supermarket self-checkout machines has risen from 53,000 to 80,000 in the past five years, RBR Data Services has found.
In May, Aldi added self-service checkouts to many of its existing stores in a bid to “further improve customer experience.”
While Tesco is also among the supermarkets to have introduced more self-checkouts across its stores in the past few years, it came under fire for this last September.
Many customers were not happy with the move and an online petition with nearly a quarter of a million signatures demanded that the Big 4 grocer needed to “stop replacing people with machines”.
However in June, Tesco group CEO Ken Murphy told shareholders: “We genuinely believe, at the end of the day, it provides a better customer experience.”
7 Comments. Leave new
Supermarkets don’t advertise specific jobs these days, because in a supermarket your expected to do more than sit on a till… Agreed the rise of self scan checkouts are not a good move..
Manager is only interested in there bonuses so the less staff they have the more bonuses they get. They also like to make the staff to do any job and then go back your department and then work harder to catch up
I feel sorry for the colleague constantly running backwards and forwards rectifying/authorising transactions. What a stressful job but will soon be an AI robot for sure
The thieves love self checkout
I wouldn’t say that it’s a good experience to be scanning your own shopping!
Theft through self scan checkouts is huge, but supermarkets mitigate this through increased prices, which the customer pays. A better experience?
There is, I believe, a huge need for many people in our country to be able to talk to a real person. Without people shops will continue to die, loneliness will increase. I am reminded, once again, of the film Wahl which, in my opinion , accurately foresees the horrors that could await us. Bring back well trained people and watch profits soar