Some San Francisco stores removing self-checkout stations

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, it could take customers longer to check out. This comes as some grocery stores and retailers are revising their self-check out strategies or doing away with the registers altogether.

For example, at the Target on Mission and Fourth streets in San Francisco, the self-checkout registers are turned off.

“I just noticed about two-three weeks ago,” said San Francisco resident Maggie Simon. “Because they think it’s going to stop the shoplifting and it’s not.”

At the Safeway off Webster near Geary in San Francisco, there were lines to check out with an employee as there were no self-checkout kiosks anymore.

One employee told NBC Bay Area Wednesday that there was too much being stolen, inventory didn’t match what they had on hand.

NBC Bay Area reached out to both Target and Safeway after hours Wednesday. But did not hear back.

San Francisco police Chief Bill Scott said stores are evolving as theft does.

“If people abuse it and take advantage of it and then, use it in ways that are harmful not only to the stores. We all suffer when we have this retail theft issue, so, the stores are making adjustments,” he said.

According to a recent report from CNBC, retailers who have blamed organized theft for lower profits could be trying to cover up self-inflicted problems, like human error happening at self-checkouts or employees stealing.

According to Scott, the more the $17 million dollar grant the city of San Francisco was awarded from the state to combat organized retail theft also goes towards those stealing at self-checkouts.

“We’ve been in the stores as much as we can be with our blitz operations to stop that from happening and we will continue to do that,” he said.

As stores across the country re-assess checking out strategies, shoppers are left to wonder how it will all play out.

“I can see how it can make shopping slower versus how it was earlier,” said San Francisco resident Salonee Rege.