Get ready for more face-to-face time while shopping. Retail giants  WalmartWMT

, TargetTGT

, and Dollar GeneralDG

are removing and rethinking self-checkout. They argue that self-checkout lanes have led to increased shoplifting and contribute to “shrink” — a retail term for lost inventory due to theft or honest mistakes by customers as they handle checkout themselves.

• The median value of stolen goods has risen, jumping from $74 in 2019 to ~$100 in 2021 — a loss companies don’t want to lose in today’s competitive retail landscape.
• However, concerns about shrink might be overblown — as retail shrink was lower in the first half of 2023 than in the same period in 2019.

E-commerce isn’t immune either: Online retailers like AmazonAMZN

are also dealing with shrink as they try to crack down on elaborate return fraud schemes. Organized crime groups use social media to promote themselves, helping shoppers get refunds for items they say were never delivered. A new survey suggests that lax return policies cost retailers a whopping $101B in 2023.