A supermarket chain is the latest to ditch vending machines amid a backlash against the controversial technology.

Hy-Vee, with about 300 stores, primarily in the Midwest and South, has completely replaced check-outs with staffed lanes in some locations. Others have created express lanes, imposing a 12-item limit on kiosks.

Bosses say they “want to provide a better customer experience in several of our stores by bringing back face-to-face interaction with our employees”.

In reality, the retailer – like its rivals – is ditching self-checkout kiosks because they are particularly vulnerable to theft.

“Most of the withdrawal at the automated checkout is due to the retailer’s concerns about theft,” retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data told DailyMail.com.

Hy-Vee was recently named the nation’s favorite grocery store

Theft rates at vending machines are reasonably high due to both deliberate actions and accidental mistakes,” explained Saunders.

“Forcing more customers to use manned homes solves many of these problems and saves merchants money. This does not mean that self-checkouts will be completely abandoned, but there will be many more restrictions on their use.

The employee-owned chain, founded in Iowa in 1930, was recently crowned the nation’s favorite grocery store.

“We want to provide a better customer experience in more of our stores, bringing back the face-to-face interaction with our employees that we had before Covid,” a spokesperson said.

“Retailers like Target and Walmart have already been eliminating automatic payments across the country for several months, so we’re not the first to do so.”

The company has not yet provided a list of all the stores that are affected by the change.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Hy-Vee in Urbanville had no vending machine as of Sunday.

Despite the company’s insistence, the change refers to what customer service experts have argued is more likely to reduce theft.

“They are rethinking their business strategy. Sometimes self-checkout aisles can lead to more shrinkage, usually theft or just misplacing items,” Peter Ralston, a professor at Iowa State University, told KCCI.

The supermarket chain began introducing the automated checkouts at some of its locations as early as 2019 and then ramped up the rollout in 2020 during the pandemic.

Hy-Vee has been gradually moving away from self-service checkouts since 2023, when it ended its Scan & Go cashierless payment app after just two years.

Self-checkouts were introduced as a way to cut lines, increase efficiency in stores and reduce staffing – and have grown in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the backlash against automated payments is growing – shoppers and store staff alike are turning them away.

Customers feel they are being made to work for free, while store managers blame them for shoplifting.

The ten best supermarkets were voted by customers in a recent USA Today survey

Hy-Vee says it is eliminating its automated checkouts to improve the customer experience in stores

Walmart – America’s largest retailer – began removing the devices from some of its stores earlier this year.

So far, it has completely removed them from at least six stores this year.

Target has done so for at least one store — even after committing to all 2,000 stores as recently as March. Target also has a limit — of ten items — to make the lines move faster.

Dollar General has also started removing vending machines from their stores due to high levels of theft.

Kroger also added traditional checkout lanes at a store in Texas where it previously offered only automatic checkout machines.

Meanwhile, Costco has begun placing additional staff in self-checkout areas to supervise shoppers and ensure all items are scanned correctly.