Dive Brief:
- Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on Thursday signed into law a bill that mandates a staffing ratio for the self-checkout area in grocery stores.
- The legislation, which the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 328 supported, will require stores to assign at least one worker to staff every three self-checkout stations.
- The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and its passage marks the first statewide self-checkout staffing ratio in the U.S. as other states consider restrictions on self-checkout.
Dive Insight:
Self-checkout typically allows consumers to make cash or card payments on their own. Payments at self-checkout are changing, with digital wallet pay options migrating into the retail industry.
The lawmakers who sponsored the newly enacted Rhode Island law did so because they were concerned that self-checkouts can overtax workers and frustrate shoppers, particularly older ones, according to a press release from the state’s General Assembly.
The law aims not only to improve the customer experience, but also to curb theft at self-checkouts, the UFCW said. The labor group cited a report by Capital One Financial that found Rhode Island retailers lost $244 million in 2022 due to theft…