Self-Checkout Theft on the Rise as Financial Pressures Mount

Self-checkout lanes may speed up shopping trips, but a growing share of customers admit they’ve also used them to steal.

A new LendingTree survey found that 27 percent of Americans who’ve used self-checkout have intentionally taken an item without scanning it, up from 15 percent in 2023.

Millennials (41 percent) and Gen Z adults (37 percent) were the most likely to acknowledge stealing at self-checkout. In contrast, only 2 percent of Baby Boomers said they had done so. Men (38 percent) were also more than twice as likely as women (16 percent) to admit to it.

When asked what motivated the theft, 47 percent pointed to the current financial climate making essentials harder to afford. Nearly as many (46 percent) cited rising prices — including increases they attributed to tariffs — while 39