Don Boudreaux has some thoughts about self-service checkout lanes:
But the point that struck me most this morning as I watched my fellow customers use the self-checkout lanes is the fact that an enormous amount of trust is necessary to make self-checkout work.
I'm sure that Home Depot and other stores that use self-checkout lanes have systems in place to monitor these lanes and protect against cheating. But with just a tad bit of cleverness, a devious and dishonest person could easily cheat the store.
While I was working on my Master's degree, I worked as an assistant manager for a well-known pharmacy chain and in terms of theft prevention, our number one focus was employee theft, not customer theft. My fellow managers and I went to seminars where we watched surveillance camera films showing various employees stealing from their stores. We also heard stories about employee theft. The cameras that were installed to identify theft were installed over the cash registers.
Employee theft takes lots of forms. Employees can steal cash, merchandise, credit card numbers etc. They can also help their friends steal stuff by placing unscanned merchandise into bags with paid-for merchandise.
By substituting capital for labor at the checkout stands, retail stores can help combat employee theft. With the self-service stations, I'd argue that since there are fewer employees handling transactions, many stores are actually preventing theft from occuring.