The Costco Checkout Feature That's Disappearing (Members Hope It Returns Improved)

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Despite the notorious weekend frenzy, Costco handles traffic relatively smoothly with its large parking lots, generous aisles, and warehouse-style layout. It can get crowded at checkout, but the self-checkout lanes can be a saving grace. Unfortunately, this feature is being phased out or restricted at some Costco locations.

Recently, members have started to notice this shift away from self-checkout in stores and many inconsistencies with the system. A customer in a r/CostcoWholesale posted March 2026 about her location in Sheridan, Colorado, stating, "We walked up to the self checkout scanners that weren't in use and were told to stop and an employee would have to check us out because they were doing away with self checkout. The whole interaction was bizarre."

Another customer expressed in an r/Costco subreddit how much easier it made their experience: "My Costco still had them as of a few weeks ago, don't know about the others in my town. To me it was heaven when the hand scanners were available to the customer, I could scan my card, scan my stuff, verify the item count on the screen matched my cart, put the scanner back, pay, and get my receipt, all in 40 seconds or so." Having access to scan your own items meant a more positive experience for those with fewer items; a customer on the same subreddit shared, "It was a wonderful 12 minutes at Costco," and another also praised it: "In Chicago and used self checkout this morning.....five minutes after open. In and out."

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The self-checkout lanes were first tested in 2013 without success, and reintroduced in some locations in 2019. Over the years, the warehouse retailer has rolled out this checkout feature to other locations. While self checkout was never rolled out nationwide at all Costco locations, it was something that regular customers came to expect, as demonstrated by Reddit posts. But over time, glaring issues began to surface, including scanning errors, overcrowded carts, and even stealing.

Customers have reported that along with the benefits of self-checkout, there was a lot of frustrating behavior in this area. "New Orleans still has self checkout as of this afternoon. However, I wish they would limit the number of items. I watched a group of five adults bunched around one cart which was overflowing. They rang up five separate transactions. About 10 carts checked out while they were still juggling the items. They were still at it when I finished and left." Costco unfortunately doesn't have an express lane, and probably never will because of the high volume of products that customers buy every trip.

Although frustrating for mindful customers who follow the rules, Costco understandably began tightening control. Self-checkout hasn't disappeared entirely, but according to Reddit posts, it does seem to be sporadic. It appears warehouses that do offer it still often have employees assisting at each station with the scanner gun and checking memberships.

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Although many customers appreciate the added feature of self-checkout for being able to exit the store more rapidly, it clearly didn't work as ideally as it could. With that said, Costco is looking at ways to provide a faster checkout experience without the friction. Select stores will soon pilot a "Scan and Go" program where customers will be able to use their Costco app to scan the items they put in their cart as they're shopping, pay via the app, and show a QR code that verifies their payment when they leave the store.

In a Q4 earnings call in 2025, president, CEO, and director Ron Vachris shared: "Another way we are improving the member experience is through the rollout of enhanced checkout technology in all U.S. warehouses. This is speeding up the checkout process by allowing our employees to scan small- and medium-sized transactions while the member is still in line. So upon reaching the cashier, nothing has to be removed from the cart only payment is needed."

While we may be losing one helpful Costco feature, hopefully we will gain two new ones that function more effectively. For now, you can use the Costco checkout hack of placing all of your items at checkout with the bar tags facing up to get through checking out faster.