"During my Monday visit, I purchased a kombucha and went through the check-out line without incident. (No high-tech gates block the exit if you go through the line like normal.) But for journalism's sake, I then headed back into the store to try going out the new gate. While I watched some customers struggle with the new technology, my receipt scanned immediately. The glass doors slid open, and I was free."
"New gates at the entrance automatically swing open when customers walk in, but they're set to trigger an alarm if someone attempts to back out. And if you walk into Safeway and change your mind about grocery shopping, you might find yourself trapped: Another gate that only opens if you scan your receipt blocks the store's sole exit. While I watched some customers struggle with the new technology, my receipt scanned immediately."
Safeway's Mission Bay store on King Street installed sliding entrance and exit gates that enforce purchases. New entrance gates swing open automatically for customers entering but are set to sound an alarm if someone attempts to back out. The store's sole exit is blocked by a glass gate that only opens when a customer's receipt is scanned, preventing departure without a purchase and potentially requiring staff intervention to exit. Prior Bay Area Safeway locations installed receipt-scanning gates in 2023. Safeway cited increasing theft as the reason for operational front-end changes. Several stores have also removed self-checkout sections due to theft.
Read at SFGATE
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