Walmart is Currently Testing a Cashier-Free Store

No doubt about it, the coronavirus outbreak of 2020 has caused some pretty nasty repercussions to us all.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fallen ill or even passed away from the virus, millions of people have lost their jobs or businesses, and we’ve all been forced to socially distance or even quarantine at home for the unforeseeable future. It hasn’t exactly been what anyone would deem a fun time.

However, with every bad comes some good. Surprisingly, there are actually some positives that have come out of the pandemic as well. For one thing, it’s made many of us think about what situations absolutely require in-person face-to-face meetings, and which don’t. And the thing is? Many things don’t!

For example, the outbreak has made many stores wonder if they really need cashiers to check customers out each and every single time. For instance, we’ve all heard of and have used the self-checkout at many stores. And even though stores that offer self-checkout contain a standard checkout as well, businesses are beginning to wonder if that’s always necessary.

Walmart is one of those businesses. And the chain has decided to do something about it.

One Walmart store located in Fayetteville, Arkansas is currently testing a completely cashier-free store, where only self-checkout is offered. The idea is to limit human contact as much as possible as the virus continues to spread, and even potentially protect customers from other illnesses that spread as well.

If the cashier-free stores are deemed successful in keeping shoppers safe, and customers and employee give positive feedback on it, then Walmart will be looking to roll out the innovative deign to many stores across the country, even as the pandemic begins to slow.

The news of utilizing the self-checkout lanes comes just a few weeks after Walmart announced several other attempts to keep customers safe and healthy as the global health crisis continues.

For one thing, Walmart has one-way aisles to encourage social distancing. Additionally, they’re now allowing customers to shop online at stores via the company’s app. Walmart has also launched a touch-free payment system on their app called Walmart Pay—yet another way for customers to checkout safely while in store.

Not only do implementing these measures help limit the spread, but Walmart is actually benefiting in sales, with a 74 percent increase in its online sales, according to the their first quarter earnings report. Not a bad deal for anyone!

To hear more about Walmart’s attempt to keep customers safe by offering a cashier-free store, check out the video below.

What do you think of the idea of offering self-checkout only? Do you think this will help limit the spread of coronavirus sand other contagious diseases?