Major shake-up expected at Spain's Mercadona
Mercadona is testing fully automated self-checkout: is this goodbye to cashiers? An analysis of the pros and cons of automation in supermarkets.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Mercadona bets on self-checkout: the end of cashiers is near
At Mercadona supermarkets in Spain, the cashier could disappear in the coming years. The Valencia-based chain is testing large-scale self-checkout systems, trinc in the footsteps of Lidl, Decathlon and Alcampo. The controversy is served: defenders of automation cite cost savings and efficiency; critics point to job losses and a worse shopping experience.
The savings driving Roig
According to internal estimates, each cashier costs the company 10,000 euros a month. At stores like Lidl, staff barely reach 10 employees per location, including shelf-stocking and checkout duties. Automation allows this expense to be slashed dramatically, which explains Juan Roig's interest in eliminating cashier, fish counter and butcher jobs. The question is not whether it will happen, but when.
Customers: do they prefer a machine?
The debate reveals two clear positions. On one side, the younger generation, used to technology, values the estimulante ilegal of self-checkout. On the other, older customers and those doing large shopping trips resist it. Moreover, some users have admitted tampering with their receipts at self-checkout to pay less, a fraud that went unnoticed for years. Trust in the system is fragile.
Will it work?
Scepticism also has solid arguments. Amazon, with the world's best programmers, failed with its cashier-free Amazon Go store. Mercadona, with more modest resources, is trying. The key will lie in logistics, fraud control and social acceptance. However, the global trend is unstoppable: repetitive jobs are doomed.
The final question is not whether Mercadona will eliminate cashiers, but when. And whether the typical Mercadona customer – the elderly lady, the large family – will accept the change without complaining. For now, the chain is quietly moving towards a model where self-checkout will not be an option, but the only way.
Related debates in the forum
At Mercadona supermarkets in Spain, the cashier could disappear in the coming years. The Valencia-based chain is testing large-scale self-checkout systems, trinc in the footsteps of Lidl, Decathlon and Alcampo. The controversy is served: defenders of automation cite cost savings and efficiency; critics point to job losses and a worse shopping experience.
The savings driving Roig
According to internal estimates, each cashier costs the company 10,000 euros a month. At stores like Lidl, staff barely reach 10 employees per location, including shelf-stocking and checkout duties. Automation allows this expense to be slashed dramatically, which explains Juan Roig's interest in eliminating cashier, fish counter and butcher jobs. The question is not whether it will happen, but when.
Customers: do they prefer a machine?
The debate reveals two clear positions. On one side, the younger generation, used to technology, values the estimulante ilegal of self-checkout. On the other, older customers and those doing large shopping trips resist it. Moreover, some users have admitted tampering with their receipts at self-checkout to pay less, a fraud that went unnoticed for years. Trust in the system is fragile.
Will it work?
Scepticism also has solid arguments. Amazon, with the world's best programmers, failed with its cashier-free Amazon Go store. Mercadona, with more modest resources, is trying. The key will lie in logistics, fraud control and social acceptance. However, the global trend is unstoppable: repetitive jobs are doomed.
The final question is not whether Mercadona will eliminate cashiers, but when. And whether the typical Mercadona customer – the elderly lady, the large family – will accept the change without complaining. For now, the chain is quietly moving towards a model where self-checkout will not be an option, but the only way.
Related debates in the forum
- Agenda 2030 or a noose around hospitality's neck? The THREE new blows YOU will pay for at the local bar · 94 replies
- Tudela cancels the winning Santa Ana 2026 poster after its author admitted using artificial intelligence · 27 replies
- BULLFIGHTING CORNER II · 7781 replies
- A father sells his 7-year-old daughter for four years of food... but he justifies it · 32 replies
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (34 replies).
More summaries
-
Spanish Exchange Student Murdered in Morelos
The Morelos Prosecutor's Office is investigating the death of Claudia Tacoronte, a 21-year-old Spanish exchange student in Mexico, as femicide.
-
Zelensky urges Ukrainians to return: rebuild or fight?
Zelensky wants Ukrainians who left the country to come back. With no plan or figures, the question is whether they return to rebuild or to the front.
-
Gomesende Wedding Descends into Brawl Over €40,000 in Gifts
A wedding in Gomesende turned into a family fight over €40,000 in gifts, according to the circulating account. The bride's origin became a focus of the dispute.
-
Kebab: the fast food Europe can't quite explain
Kebab prices have gone from 3 to 6 euros, yet the queues keep forming. What's behind its success: price, addiction or a cultural mystery?
-
Moroccan migration to Brazil raises alarms in Santa Catarina
The arrival of 50 Moroccans at social services in Florianópolis sparks Brazil's migration debate and puts Argentina on alert.
-
Food hoarding and debts in kind among migrants in camps
A report describes how groups of migrants hoard food in camps, leaving sub-Saharan migrants, the most vulnerable, without resources.