Booths' managing director, Nigel Murray, stated that customer feedback indicated dissatisfaction with the self-scan machines, citing their slowness, unreliability, and impersonal nature.
The company, often compared to Waitrose, prides itself on high standards and personal customer care. Murray emphasized the importance of human interaction in their stores, contrasting it with artificial intelligence.
The decision has elicited mixed reactions from customers. Some appreciate the return to staffed checkouts for a more personal shopping experience, while others find self-service tills quicker and more convenient, especially during busy periods.
This shift by Booths is notable as self-service checkouts have become increasingly common worldwide since their introduction in the 1990s.
This move also reflects a broader debate about the role of technology in retail and the balance between efficiency and human interaction. A petition against replacing people with machines at Tesco, for example, has gained significant support, indicating a substantial number of customers still value interaction with staff at checkouts.