People Are Losing It As American Grocery Shops Introduce Self-Checkout And Morning Shopping Fees

Americans are getting tired of subscriptions. CNET’s second annual subscription survey found that an average American spends $1,080 per year on subscriptions. What’s more, 61% of the respondents are rethinking the amount of their subscriptions, and 26% have canceled at least one.

One woman recently called outWalmart for charging shoppers a fee to bag their own groceries. Membership-only Sam’s Club also got some flack for asking members to pay $55 if they want to shop before 10 AM. People started saying how this was straight out of a Black Mirror episode and voicing their fears about the ugly side of capitalism.

Bored Panda reached out to the woman who raised this issue on TikTok, Kirby Le Metayer, and she kindly agreed to share more of her thoughts on absurd subscriptions and gave some advice to those who would like to fight similar subscription services.

More info: TikTok | Instagram

Shopping fees in the U.S. are becoming absurd, and people are not afraid to call them out

Woman using self-checkout station at an American grocery shop amid rising fees and customer concerns.

Image credits: Natalia Blauth (not the actual photo)

One woman was infuriated to find that Walmart is now charging an extra fee for using self-service checkouts

Text excerpt about American grocery shops charging a yearly fee for self-checkout services to bag groceries.

Person in a grocery store reacting to American grocery shops implementing self-checkout and morning shopping fees controversy.

Image source: @kirby.in.scandi

Text on a plain white background expressing a personal decision to stop shopping at Walmart before leaving the United States.

Text excerpt from an online comment criticizing Walmart and American grocery shops for fees and policies related to self-checkout and morning shopping.

Alt text: Complaint about American grocery shops charging fees for early morning shopping and self-checkout usage policies

Membership-only retailer Sam’s Club also made shopping before 10 AM an “exclusive Plus perk”

Sam's Club self-checkout screen offers a paid upgrade for early shopping hours, highlighting American grocery shopping fees.

Image source: @kirby.in.scandi

Text about American grocery shops charging additional fees for shopping and self-checkout, highlighting customer complaints.

Text discussing Sam's Club membership fees related to morning shopping, highlighting American grocery shops under fire.

Kirby’s video garnered over 200k views in three days

@kirby.in.scandi Originals: @Liz Neptune and @verbalnuisance, so now Walmart and Sam’s Club in the United States are charging shoppers membership subscription fees in order to use self-checkout or shop before a certain time in the morning… #theamericandream#usa#america#livingabroad♬ original sound – Kirby in Scandi 🇩🇰

She tells Bored Panda that people are fed up with businesses monetizing basic conveniences

Image source: @kirby.in.scandi

Kirby first started hearing about these changes in Walmart and other stores on TikTok and Reddit. “People were sharing their personal experiences with new fees and restrictions at major retailers,” she recounts.

“While I haven’t experienced these policies firsthand (since I’ve been living outside of the U.S. for the past few years), I’ve followed the conversations closely. It’s clear that many shoppers feel blindsided and frustrated by the growing trend of monetizing basic conveniences,” she notes.

In her video, Kirby mentions how she stopped shopping at Walmart a year prior to moving out of the U.S. She tells Bored Panda she didn’t approve of the retail chain’s labor practices, environmental impact, and business ethics.

“I didn’t feel comfortable supporting a multi-billion dollar corporation that continually fails to treat its workers fairly or act responsibly toward the communities it profits from,” Kirby tells us.

“It became more important to me to align my spending with my values, even if that meant shopping elsewhere or paying a little more.”

Kirby says that turning back to owning physical media can help us reclaim some power from companies

Image credits: Ryunosuke Kikuno (not the actual photo)

Kirby’s passionate about making a change, and she thinks the first step is to be more intentional about where and how we spend our money.

“Limit subscriptions to only what’s necessary, and consider rotating platforms instead of staying subscribed year-round,” she recommends to other consciously-minded shoppers.

“But most importantly, I believe we need to return to owning physical media like books, movies, music, even video games. When we rely entirely on digital subscriptions, we give companies the power to change access, remove content, or charge more at any time.”

“Physical ownership gives you permanence, independence, and a deeper connection to the things you value,” Kirby believes. “It’s not just about nostalgia, it’s about maintaining control over your access to art, knowledge, and entertainment.”

The claims might be a tad misleading: people can still use the self-checkout at most Walmart stores without a subscription

Image credits: qui3t_n3rd (not the actual photo)

A subscription fee for using a self-checkout sounds dystopian, huh? While it may seem that we have to pay subscriptions and memberships for almost everything nowadays, self-checkout is not actually going under a paywall at Walmart.

People on the internet have been ringing these alarm bells since last year. There was a Facebook video floating around with claims that “Walmart is charging $98 to people to use self-checkout.”

Reuters and USA Today fact-checked the claim in March of last year and found that it’s not entirely true. The $98 fee the video refers to is the subscription fee for Walmart+, a membership that gives shoppers perks like free delivery, gas savings, and more. They don’t list using the self-checkout lanes as one of the perks.

A spokesperson for Walmart, Kelsey Bohl, told Reuters that sometimes self-checkout lanes might get reserved for Walmart+ members depending on how busy the store gets. A store manager might make the decision to limit access to the self-checkout lanes to Walmart+ members only and Spark delivery drivers

“During these times of limited access, some stores are designating select self-checkout stations for Walmart+ customers using our Scan and Go service,” Bohl explained.

Another Walmart spokesperson, Joe Pennington, told Business Insider that this policy is similar to express lanes for shoppers with 10 items or less. He also claimed that this is not a strategy to encourage more people to sign up for Walmart+.

Retailers are experimenting with self-checkout policies due to dropping sales and increasing theft

Image credits: Natalia Blauth (not the actual photo)

Why is access to the self-checkout lanes getting limited, and why is access to regular checkout lanes not? This might have to do with how common self-checkout theft has become.

Statistics show that around 20.1 million Americans have stolen from a self-checkout kiosk. 8.85 million plan to do it again and only 33% of the 20 million have been caught.

The problem often lies in there not being enough staff to oversee the self-checkout machines. Recently, the city of Long Beach, California, has even implemented a law that would charge the store a $2,5000 fine if one worker oversees more than two machines at a time. It also requires stores to keep at least one staffed register at all times.

There’s also the phenomenon industry insiders call the “partial shrink,” or more and more missing inventory. When at a self-checkout kiosk, people might not scan all their items properly. That still counts as theft, even if accidental. In fact, around 21% of self-checkout thefts are accidental.

A study by a checkout-free tech startup, Grabango, revealed that it’s 21 times easier to get stolen groceries past a machine than a human. They also found that the losses of self-checkout theft account for 3.5% of revenue sales. For some stores, that’s half of their bottom-line profit.

To combat all of this, Walmart, Target, and other retailers in America are experimenting with their self-checkout policies. If other cities in America follow Long Beach and implement similar laws, we might be seeing a return to staff-operated checkouts.

People were appalled at such dystopian practices: “Very Black Mirror of them”

Comment from Zara questioning Walmart and referencing American grocery shops under fire for self-checkout and shopping fees.

Comment on social media discussing fees for self-checkout and morning shopping in American grocery shops.

User comment expressing frustration with American grocery shops, mentioning Walmart, Aldi, and Trader Joe’s shopping preferences.

Comment expressing outrage on American grocery shops implementing self-checkout and morning shopping fees.

Comment on American grocery shops facing criticism for self-checkout and morning shopping fees in the USA.

User comment criticizing American grocery shops for profit-driven fees, highlighting frustration over self-checkout and morning shopping charges.

Comment on American grocery shops under fire for self-checkout and morning shopping fees in the USA discussion.

User comment discussing the failure of self-checkout and shopping fees in American grocery shops and similar past attempts.

Comment by David expressing preference for self checkout but refusal to pay fees at American grocery shops.

Social media comment discussing American grocery shops facing criticism over self-checkout and shopping fees policies.

User comment refusing to use self-checkouts amid American grocery shops facing fees for self-checkout and morning shopping trends.

Comment by Sean questioning paying to work for American grocery shops amid self-checkout and shopping fees controversy.

Comment discussing paying someone to shop at Walmart during regular hours to save time amidst American grocery shops self-checkout and shopping fees.

Comment about unnecessary subscriptions ruining the world, highlighting reactions to American grocery shops under fire fees.

Comment on American grocery shops charging fees, discussing self-checkout and morning shopping fee complaints.

Comment about Sam’s Club premium fees affecting morning shopping hours in American grocery shops under fire.

Comment on American grocery shops criticizing self-checkout and morning shopping fees, reflecting customer frustration online.

Comment saying this is so stupid, expressing frustration about American grocery shops and their fees.

Screenshot of a social media comment sarcastically discussing fees at American grocery shops amid self-checkout and morning shopping charges.

Screenshot of a social media comment criticizing American grocery shops and their self-checkout and morning shopping fees.

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