Citizens claim that stores are making large savings, while customers do their work for free.

The Croatian Consumer Protection Association has launched an initiative calling on stores to introduce a discount for all customers who use self-checkout tills. As the Association explains, this is a fair request because consumers, by using these tills, take over a whole range of tasks that were once performed by paid employees.

Customers thus weigh fruit and vegetables themselves, enter codes for bakery products, solve technical issues with barcodes and scales, scan each item, and finally pack and pay for the goods themselves. In practice, they do the entire cashier’s job, but without any compensation.

The Association points out that retailers thereby achieve significant financial savings because one employee is enough to supervise several self-checkout tills. Although operating costs are falling, prices for consumers remain the same. 'Retailers save, and citizens work for free,' say representatives of the Croatian Consumer Protection Association.

Consumers want a fair relationship

The initiative proposes introducing a discount of, for example, five percent on the total bill for those who handle payment themselves. Such a model, the Association says, would be a symbolic but fair compensation for the effort and time consumers invest. It would also show that retailers value the loyalty of their customers and transparently acknowledge the real savings they achieve thanks to self-checkout tills.

Citizens can express their views on the initiative in the survey available on the official website of the Croatian Consumer Protection Association.

After the responses are collected, the Association plans to request concrete measures from retail chains and their associations.

More and more self-checkout tills in Croatian stores

Self-checkout tills have become common in almost all major retail chains in Croatia in recent years. Stores present them as a 'convenience' because they supposedly shorten waiting times in line and enable faster shopping. However, some consumers believe that behind this actually lies a reduction in the number of employees and the shifting of part of the work onto customers.

In practice, many consumers state that self-checkout tills do not speed up shopping, especially when technical errors occur. Some customers admit that they still feel more comfortable being served by a cashier, while others, especially younger generations, point out that they have already become used to them.

Technical errors and unpleasant experiences

There are also frequent experiences of the till incorrectly registering an item, 'freezing' during scanning, or requesting worker authorization due to age verification. Such situations, consumers say, create additional frustration because they are expected to solve technical difficulties themselves that in regular operations belong to the retailer.

Although at first it seemed that self-checkout tills increased efficiency, research shows that they often lead to greater stress for customers, especially older people who find it harder to manage with technology.

Increased number of thefts and abuses

With the rise of self-checkout tills, the number of thefts in stores has also increased. Security services warn that customers, whether accidentally or intentionally, sometimes do not scan all products. Such cases, although involving smaller amounts, create losses of millions for stores each year.

Retailers therefore increasingly use video surveillance and additional verification systems to reduce the risk of abuse. However, experts warn that excessive reliance on technology can create additional tension between stores and consumers.

Customers demand a voice and respect

The Croatian Consumer Protection Association says that this initiative is not directed against stores, but rather toward establishing a fairer relationship between consumers and retailers. 'If we are already taking over their work, we deserve at least a symbolic reward,' say representatives of the Association, calling on citizens to take part in the survey and express their opinion.