Aldi Süd uses self-service checkouts in selected branches to speed up shopping. A branch in Cologne is already backing down – allegedly because of numerous thefts by students.
Just a few weeks ago, Aldi Süd announced a new checkout concept: In addition to expanded double checkouts, this also included self-service checkouts where customers can scan and pay for their purchases themselves. “Selected branches in urban areas” should get this upgrade – but apparently one market is rowing back again.
As the “Express” reports, a Cologne Aldi branch has abolished the self-service checkouts. The reason for this is said to have been theft: in the past, numerous baked goods in particular had been stolen, the newspaper quoted an unnamed witness as saying. The culprits are mostly students from neighboring schools who come to the branch during the breaks.
Cologne: Aldi branch closes self-checkouts
They allegedly regularly take more rolls or other baked goods with them than they pay for at the self-service checkouts. However, whether this is really the background to the change remains open. An Aldi spokeswoman did not want to confirm to the “Express” that there is a direct connection between theft and the abolition of the self-checkouts.
It is well known that “self-checkout” tills offer less security. Some customers use creative tricks to trick the devices: In 2019, for example, a young Frenchman put a Playstation on the vegetable scale and paid only nine instead of 300 euros for it. Nevertheless, according to Aldi Süd, self-service checkouts are “excellent for straightening out possible queues in the checkout area”.
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There are already self-service checkouts at numerous other supermarkets, discounters and drugstores. They are not only intended to speed up purchasing, but can also mean personnel savings for companies, as fewer cashiers are required.
Sources: /
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Source: Stern
