Target shoppers are using a sneaky “hack” to save money at self-checkout, but not everyone is on board and some are pointing at it as cheating or stealing. A savvy Target customer, named Vivian (who goes by @vivianinthecity on TikTok), shared a tip that has sparked a huge discussion online. In her video, Vivian scanned a bottle of carpet cleaner that rang up to $6.05 and told the machine that it was all, and that she was ready to pay. So far, everything’s normal and there’s no trick here. But, what she did next is what’s sparkling the controversy on the web. Of course, her TikTok account was filled with hundreds of comments from people that agree and from others that differ.
As you should know so far, supermarkets and retail stores along the United States are having lots of problems with self-checkout machines. They were intended to eradicate the so-called “banana trick” and the little thefts but, au contraire, the issue is skyrocketing. This debate on Vivian’s trick is just another drop in the sea of difficulties the industry is having with this self-checkout kiosks. This goes beyond one company: Target, Walmart and some others are having the same situations, and they still don’t know what to do.
The Self-Checkout Trick That Saves Money but Raises Ethical Questions
Back to the video, when Vivian was ready to pay, she selected a function on the self-checkout screen where customers can input the number of bags they brought for shopping. Vivian claimed she brought nine personal bags, the maximum amount, and was rewarded with a $2 coupon, bringing her purchase total down to $3.56. Target offers discounts to customers who bring their own bags, rather than using those provided at the store. You can tell in the video that she didn’t have any bag.
While the initiative appears to be based on the honor system, commenters on the video noted that Target employees have responded to some dishonest transactions. “I did 3 bags once, and it called a team member over,” one person said. Another wrote: “I tried that once and a thing popped up saying a worker was coming to check that I had that many.” Some TikTok users urged viewers to not abuse the discount, warning that the store may take it away for good. “Y’all gonna ruin that discount for everyone,” a different annoyed user said.
Vivian later claimed that her video was a joke and encouraged shoppers to not be dishonest about the number of bags they bring. She said that “While people should not be dishonest about the number of bags they bring, there are many other ways to save money at Target. I love showing people how to save money and life living in a city.”
Changes Are Coming to Target and Its Self-Checkout Plans
Meanwhile, Target is rolling out six major changes in 2023, including a new store design that will offer more options for in-store and online shoppers. The larger-format stores will have backroom fulfillment spaces that are nearly five times bigger than the current ones, allowing stores to fulfill over 95% of digital orders and same-day services. Over half of the 200 remodeled stores will be large-format, and the new stores will be designed to fit into neighborhoods rather than abiding by a standardized aesthetic.
As well as some other retailer chains, they’re now discussing what to do with the self-checkout machines they’ve installed in a lot of stores along the United States, because they’re causing too much trouble. Let’s see what happen next with this idea that was supposed to save money to companies and actually are costing millions.