Target's Minnesota Checkout Rule is Now Three Months Old

Minnesota's own Target made a big change to its checkouts and self-checkouts across our fair state earlier this year, and that 'new' rule is now three months old.

While self-checkouts may seem to be a relatively new phenomenon at department and grocery stores here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and across the country, they actually aren't all that new. In fact, CNN says the very first self-checkout debuted at a Kroger grocery store in Atlanta way back in 1986.

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Since then, of course, self-checkouts have become more and more common. That same CNN story said that in 2020, '29 percent of transactions at food retailers were processed through self-checkouts.' And that figure was an increase from 23 percent reported in 2019, according to data from food industry association FMI, CNN said.

Courtesy Target

Back in mid-March, Minnesota-based Target rolled out another feature of self-checkouts: Something it calls Express Self-Checkouts. A release from Target detailed just what those express self-checkouts entailed:

Express Self-Checkouts with limits of 10 items or fewer are now available at most of Target's nearly 2,000 stores nationwide.
Target has also opened more traditional lanes staffed by team members across all our stores for guests who have more in their Target carts, need a helping hand, or just enjoy connecting with our team to help them get on their way sooner.
Target said store leaders now have the flexibility to open more lanes staffed by team members and set self-checkout hours that are right for their store. While the hours of operation may vary based on store needs, Express Self-Checkout will be available during the busiest shopping times.

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In the release, Target also noted that it first tried its new Express Self Checkouts during a pilot program at 200 different stores in 2023 and that the new limits helped speed up the checkout process and resulted in less frustration.

Self-checkout was twice as fast at our pilot stores. By having the option to pick self-checkout for a quick trip, or a traditional, staffed lane when their cart is full, guests who were surveyed told us the overall checkout experience was better, too.

Target rolled out these changes here in Minnesota and across the country back on March 17, 2024, but I can't say I've noticed a huge difference so far, have you? Target's red and white colors and familiar bullseye are some of the most identifiable corporate logos around these days. And speaking of logos, keep scrolling to see how many other companies you can identify by their logos!