--- title: "Retailers Find Opportunity in Self-Checkout Without Replacing Employees" url: https://burnaze.com/article/3f688dc4-4e91-4bc6-bff2-7c093f65d1d6 source: "CStore Decisions" original_url: https://cstoredecisions.com/retailers-find-opportunity-in-self-checkout-without-replacing-employees/ author: "Emily Boes" category: "Retail" industry: "Retail" topics: ["Operations"] published: 2026-08-27T13:38:33.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:18:59.773Z image: https://cstoredecisions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/eagle-stores-print-edit.jpg --- # Retailers Find Opportunity in Self-Checkout Without Replacing Employees **TL;DR:** Convenience retailers such as Eagle Stop, Good 2 Go, and MotoMart are finding success with self-checkout technology by using it as an additional tool to offer speed and convenience to customers, rather than replacing employees. These retailers emphasize the importance of customer service and employee interaction, even with self-checkout in place. *By Emily Boes, originally published in CStore Decisions on 2026-08-27. [Read the original](https://cstoredecisions.com/retailers-find-opportunity-in-self-checkout-without-replacing-employees/).* ## Story C-store operators are positioning self-checkout as an additional tool to offer speed, convenience and flexibility to the customer. While not every convenience retailer offers self-checkout, those who find success with the technology say the same thing: It can’t be a stand-in for employees. Traditional stores still need team members manning the counter. Gier Oil, operating over 50 Eagle Stop locations in Missouri, installed self-checkout in seven of its sites. Its initial focus has been on new builds and major remodels to create a more modern, upscale c-store experience centered on speed, convenience and customer choice. Nick Lepper, director of retail operations for the chain, noted that self-checkout shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for customer service, but rather, as another way to serve your customers. “Self-checkout will never replace our sales associates. At Eagle Stop, customer service remains one of our highest priorities. We’ll always have at least one sales associate in the transaction area, and during our busiest times, we’ve had two traditional checkout lanes open while a third team member assists customers using self-checkout,” he said. Good 2 Go takes a similar approach. The 76-store chain, operating in seven Western states, teaches its employees that self-checkout does not mean self-service. “Our team still needs to interact with the customer, be visible and be ready to jump in and help. They need to make sure items are being scanned correctly, payments go through and customers aren’t standing there wondering what button they’re supposed to push. Basically, the machine can handle the transaction, but our people still handle the experience,” said Tim Smith, VP of operations for Good 2 Go. In a new-to-industry build, Good 2 Go typically has three self-checkout units it its queue. Ian Forsyth, director of operations for FKG Oil Co. dba MotoMart Convenience Stores, which operates 84 locations in six Midwestern states, also stressed the importance of the customer experience, noting self-checkout isn’t a substitute for a human cashier. Forsyth likened the technology to a pressure escape valve. “We think of it more as a way to deal with that customer traffic volatility, rather than just a standalone alternative checkout mechanism,” he continued. MotoMart offers self-checkout in 10% of its stores, primarily in the larger-format ground-up builds that it’s been constructing since 2019 and in extensive remodels where there is space. Self-checkout allows retailers a chance to improve speed, convenience and efficiency of labor. “The retailers who I’ve seen be most successful with self-checkout have gone beyond a rip-and-replace of a traditional point-of-sale (POS) register,” said Mike Templeton, partner and VP of advisory firm NexChapter. “Self-checkout has a different labor model — inherent in the name — but it also requires rethinking your customer flow to ensure it is inviting, thoughtfully integrated and able to be managed by existing staff.” For Eagle Stop, the biggest opportunity with self-checkout is convenience. It values the benefit of labor efficiencies, but its primary objective is improving the customer experience by reducing perceived wait times and providing more flexibility. “One lesson we learned early was that placement matters. In our original layouts, the self-checkout wasn’t positioned as the primary interaction point, so customers naturally gravitated toward the traditional registers. We’ve since adjusted our store designs to place self-checkout in a more prominent location, which has significantly improved adoption,” said Lepper. Store layout, customer education and employee engagement are just as important as the technology itself, he added. Team members actively encourage customers to use self-checkout during busy periods, which increases comfort levels and drives faster adoption. Good 2 Go realized the tech was a win for both its slower stores and its busy stores. At slower stores, it takes employees out from behind the register and onto the sales floor, allowing them to greet people, help customers locate items, face the store, clean, stock and generally oversee the store. At busy stores, customers have another option to checkout without standing in line. “And here’s the funny part — we’ve learned that some customers absolutely love self-checkout, while others basically say, ‘Nope, I want my person!’ And that’s okay! We love that our customers have a choice. We will always have someone up front ready to provide that personal touch,” said Smith. MotoMart places self-checkout stations on the side of the pay counter, positioned where associates can keep track of it but not front and center. The chain prefers to see a balance between self-checkout transactions and employee-assisted transactions. “We like to see a certain amount of customer traffic going through the self-checkouts, because that means that our associates are engaging people on how to use the self-checkouts,” said Forsyth. “It means that it’s functioning appropriately as that pressure release mechanism for long lines. But we would get concerned if we actually see too many transactions going through the self-checkout because that might mean that the associates aren’t engaging our customers … or there could be some operational issues tied to too high of a usage.” Templeton confirmed that self-checkout that’s relegated to an out-of-the-way corner or isn’t perceived as being faster will deter customers. Adding instructive signage and strategic placement of the unit within the primary customer flows are two of the most important considerations. “To drive adoption of self-checkout, the terminal must be just as capable as any other POS. This means loyalty integration, tap-to-pay options and functionality like pre-paid fuel. And don’t forget about payment options like cards and cash recyclers to ensure you can meet the needs of all customers,” he noted. Forsyth, however, approaches self-checkout with cash vendors differently. Although MotoMart offers this option, it has posed operational challenges for the chain, such as expensive maintenance. He does encourage the use of substantial units, though, as well as mobile payments. As for loyalty integration, it has been “a big win” for Good 2 Go, Smith said. Participation has continued to grow, customers signing up and using the loyalty program while checking themselves out with ease. Age verification is another possibility for self-checkout. Eagle Stop supports age-restricted purchases at self-checkout; the system automatically pauses the transaction so a sales associate can verify identity. Many customers are already familiar with self-checkout. “We have to give some credit to the ‘big box’ stores. They trained our customers for us. By the time we rolled out self-checkout, many customers already knew exactly what to do,” said Smith. Forsyth also recognized the value of these larger retailers already familiarizing customers with the tech. Initially, in some of its more rural communities, self-checkout saw resistance. “A lot of the narrative at that time around self-checkout was that we were going to cut our labor hours dramatically and force people to check themselves out. And then … over the course of a month, that feedback completely stopped. It’s like the public just accepted that this was a thing, I think mostly because, on a really large scale, these machines were installed en masse by all the big-box retailers. …” he said. Eagle Stop also saw hesitation from first-time users, but once employees encouraged them to use it, their confidence grew and they were more likely to choose it in the future. Initial customer concerns at the chain included checking out fountain beverages or prepared food. However, the touchscreen organizes these products into intuitive categories, making them easy to locate. At Good 2 Go, though, configuring the screens so they are simple and intuitive has posed the greatest challenge. Another trial with self-checkout is preventing theft. Good 2 Go’s loss prevention team constructed strong training for this, expecting team members to continuously interact with customers and be aware. “The message to the customer is simple: We see you, we’re here to help you, and we’re paying attention. That customer interaction is actually one of our best tools. Great customer service and good awareness can go a long way in preventing problems,” said Smith. Forsyth believes that theoretically, c-stores are better positioned to handle self-checkout in terms of loss prevention than other retail formats. “In c-store, the rings are relatively small, and you also have your associate that’s right there and also additional tracking features built into the machine. It really discourages the kind of large-scale theft that we’re seeing at some of these other retail establishments,” he said. In all, challenges don’t have to outweigh the benefits, particularly as the tech evolves, as it already has with computer vision and artificial intelligence models. “These types of experiences are becoming more and more common across all of retail – and convenience should be the most convenient way to shop,” said Templeton. ## Entities - Retail (sector) - customer service (topic) - CStore Decisions (publication) - convenience retail (topic) - Emily Boes (person) - NexChapter (company) - Good 2 Go (company) - store layout (topic) - Mike Templeton (person) - employee interaction (topic) - Eagle Stop (company) - MotoMart (company) --- Originally reported by Emily Boes, CStore Decisions (https://cstoredecisions.com/retailers-find-opportunity-in-self-checkout-without-replacing-employees/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/3f688dc4-4e91-4bc6-bff2-7c093f65d1d6).