ST. LOUIS – The next time you’re shopping at Walmart, some self-checkout lanes may only be available to subscription members or delivery service drivers.

“This decision is intended to better manage checkout availability,” Kelsey Bohl, senior manager of communications at Walmart, told TODAY.

Some customers have reported the changes taking effect in their stores and being left to wait in line for cashiers. A Reddit user posted a photo of a sign blocking the self-checkout that states, “Attention: This self-checkout is for Spark Shoppers and Walmart Scan & Go only.”

Walmart Scan & Go is exclusive to those who are Walmart+ members, which is the company’s paid membership. Customers scan their items as they go through the store and pay at the self-checkout. Spark Driver is the delivery service provided through Walmart.

A Walmart+ membership is $12.95 per month or $98 annually, according to Walmart’s website.

With the potential closure of self-checkout lanes, Walmart intends to adjust the number of cashiers at regular registers.

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“For example, a store might start or end the day with staffed checkouts. As the number of shoppers and associate staffing increases, these stores open self-checkout registers to manage the increased customer flow. This process isn’t new,” Bohl said in a statement.

Bohl also told TODAY that the decision to implement these changes will be localized, as store managers have the ultimate say if and when they use the method.

These changes may not only be at Walmart.

Several social media users have brought up Target stores limiting self-checkout hours, although a Target representative said there are no updates to share.

Retail shrinkage doubled between 2015 and 2021, creating a nearly $100 billion issue for stores, according to Yahoo Finance. However, Bohl said the decision to restrict self-checkout lanes to certain customers is not due to retail theft or shrinkage.

These approaches come at a time when, last month, there was public hesitation towards Schnucks for changing requirements in their self-checkout lanes to 10 items or less in an effort to combat theft.

“I want to point out that this is not new; it’s not a new operating process. I feel like it stems from Reddit and social posts, and that’s why it’s bubbling up right now, but it’s not a new thing,” she told TODAY.

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