Retailers are pulling back from self-checkout after years of theft, errors and questionable time savings. The great self-service experiment is in retreat.

Walmart, Target and Dollar General have all limited or removed self-checkout lanes. The Wall Street Journal reports chains are scaling back to curb irritation and theft.

Self-checkout was supposed to cut labour costs. Instead it created shrinkage problems retailers did not anticipate, with customers skipping scans either by mistake or on purpose.

Walmart is also cutting 1,000 corporate jobs as part of the shift. The company is rethinking how much automation its stores really need.

The retreat marks one of the biggest reversals in retail tech in a decade. Staffed checkouts, once written off, are coming back.

Modern Retail reported Target and Dollar General are limiting self-checkout. TheStreet noted new retail theft problems at Walmart and Target self-checkouts.

Inc.com said self-checkout created problems retailers did not anticipate. Complex reported Walmart’s pullback as part of a wider rethink of store automation.