Rising Grocery Prices and Self-Checkouts — Is There a Hidden Cost?

Have you ever paused at the checkout and wondered why groceries have become so expensive, especially in Australia — though it may be the same elsewhere? At the time of writing, petrol prices have been relatively low. Farmers are publicly expressing their frustration, saying they are not being paid a fair share. And yet, the cost to the everyday shopper keeps rising.

So what exactly is going on?

There may be many factors, but I would like to offer one possibility. Call it a theory, or if you prefer, a conspiracy theory — but it is based on what I have personally observed.

Recently, major supermarket chains have rolled out automatic self-checkout machines across the country. These machines are now everywhere — yet when I look around, I notice that many of the same staff members who once stood behind traditional checkout counters are now stationed near the machines, assisting with errors, scanning age-restricted items, and troubleshooting technical glitches. Instead of reducing labor, the role has simply shifted — from scanning groceries to fixing the very machines that replaced the tills.

So, if the purpose of automation was to cut labor costs, it does not appear to be working in the way one might expect.

Could it be that these companies are now trying to recover the substantial cost of installing these machines — machines that were not needed in the first place? Unlike businesses that introduce automation to truly reduce overheads, here it seems the staff remain, the checkout experience is more frustrating for many customers, and the prices continue to climb.

All while farmers struggle, and profits go up.

I do not claim to have all the answers. But I do believe we are entitled to ask: if prices are going up, yet petrol is down and farmers are being underpaid — where exactly is the money going?

Perhaps it is time for more transparency from those who control what we eat — and how we pay for it.