Here is the thing, the people who are typically stealing formula, diapers, laundry detergent, razors, etc. aren’t stealing 1-2 packs for their own use.

Those items are stolen in bulk by more organized shoplifters who will hit half a dozen stores in a day and literally fill carts and then resell them because they are easy to move, relatively shelf stable, etc.

Morally, I am a bit conflicted. Fuck large corpos, but large corpos take large shrink (what theft, damaged goods, etc are called) budget overages out on the stores with less hours available for employees…

So yeah, fuck big box stores and if people are stealing food, look the other way. Organized theft? Idk, hurts the employees more than the big box store

Edit: Since people are doubting what I am saying, I’ve witnessed and experienced this first hand at retail stores.

Here are some additional sources.

https://abcnews.com/US/baby-formula-targeted-organized-retail-theft-rings/story?id=13293485

https://www.tampabay28.com/news/region-hillsborough/alleged-shoplifting-ring-faces-rico-charges-after-stealing-baby-formula-throughout-florida

A simple web search of “shoplifting ring baby formula” yields dozens of results.

When self checkouts came around, I was a big fan. I hugely preferred it because I'm pretty socially awkward. I used it pretty much exclusively for a decade or so.

But this past year, something flipped in my brain. The rise of AI taking over everything, economy in shambles, general shit state of the world, I don't know... But now I go out of my way to avoid self check outs. I will stand in line waiting for a cashier even if there's self checkout wide open. I want that cashier to have a job. I want them to be able to afford their groceries.

I hate using the manned checkout at Sainsbury's. No I don't want to talk about my day, no I don't want to talk about the weather.

Manned checkout at Aldi or Lidl though, bliss. Bags at the ready and try to keep up as they throw it all at you. Got Lidl+, yep scan, pay, done.

Especially on items where the pricing is predatory, which is most of them, but some more-so than others.

Recently we were setting up reticulation for our veggies. It's just a network of pipes, but you need clips and connectors and bubblers and things. Of course you have to buy them in packs of however many, but sometimes it's just a nylon clip which I'm certain cost less than $0.01 to manufacture, but a pack of 12 of them costs $5.

I get that the $5 is the cost for the infrastructure to produce, transport, stock, and then sell an item, but that also means that me not paying that $5 hasn't actually cost the vendor anything.

Im happy not to steal. But if it scans cheaper wrong, or it wont scan, it goes in my bag.

Of coirse if you see soneone else steal food. You didnt.

Im finding the constant monitoring quite creepy and the cashier is now a shorter queue. So the convenience is gone. However, the ability to identify the vegetable by picture as i weigh it os good.

Im in australia. Coming from europe, i find it really creepy thatnits nornal here to check your personal bag for theft on the way out of some shops. Id prefer digital surveillance than the same surveillance by a person. Obviously, od much prefer both.

By stealing you just encourage the store to raise their prices. You literally give them a reason as to why they should make stuff more expensive.

The Aldi near me had self-serve registers for about a year, and removed them. I've seen and heard of other stores doing the same.

It seems like human workers may have some advantage over the robots after all.

That would cost $51 billion. Can’t have that.

it is not. having to work less is not fundamentally a bad thing. the problem is that the people will not get paid the same for working less, even if there is not as much work to be done