Why Some Aldi Stores Are Saying Goodbye To Self

Grocery

Stores And Chains

Why Some Aldi Stores Are Saying Goodbye To Self-Checkout Lanes By Maria Scinto Sept. 18, 2025 8:20 pm EST

Aldi has long been one of the best chains for budget shoppers because it keeps costs down in a number of ways. Some of these involve aesthetics ( storing items in shipping boxes instead of arranging them in a pretty display), but others require customer participation, such as bringing your own bags or depositing a quarter to use a cart. You'd think, then, that self-checkout would be a no-brainer — after all, those extra-large barcodes make items easy to scan . Oddly enough, though, Aldi didn't introduce this feature until 2021, by which time it was well-established at other retailers. (The first self-checkout debuted at a Kroger back in 1986,