Self-checkout used to mean customers were more or less flying solo. Now, a major retailer is experimenting with dropping the “self” in self-checkout and making staff available to scan all items.

Walmart’s recent efforts to innovate the checkout experience have mostly involved taking away cashiers and replacing them with automated self-checkout options. But earlier this month, a Walmart Supercentre on the outskirts of Ottawa, Canada, tested a more hands-on approach.

According to CTV News, a note placed near the checkout area read: “During this test, our associates will be available to scan all items, including those being processed in the area known as our self-checkout.”

Checking in: The short trial—with what the store called the “full-serve experience,” according to store signs seen by CTV News—comes as retailers continue to weigh the pros and cons of self-checkout in response to customer frustrations with glitches and delays and concerns about shrinkage.

Supermarket chain Wegmans, for example, discontinued the use of a popular self-checkout app in 2022, citing heavy losses from theft.

A 2018 study from the University of Leicester found that self-checkout thefts accounted for ~4% of turnover, which is 122% above the average rate.

Notably, Walmart did not cite rising theft as the reason for the test in an email to Retail Brew, despite top executives stressing the severity of the issue to news outlets.

Keep reading here.—AV

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Much ink has been spilled over the glut of cannabis in the state of New York. The state has granted licenses to grow cannabis to ~280 farms, but so far only 23 cannabis retail stores have opened in the state. And as a result, the pot runneth over:

• Growers in New York collectively have an oversupply of an estimated 250,000 pounds of cannabis, with more crops growing in their fields.
• That’s the equivalent of about 378 million joints (a joint contains roughly 0.3 grams of cannabis).

Now New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has approved what are commonly called farmers’ markets for the growers, but what it’s calling Cannabis Growers’ Showcases.

So dope: The first market took place in New Paltz on Aug. 10, in a parking lot behind the village hall, and they’ll continue on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

The Business of Cannabis called the effort a “first-in-the-nation initiative,” and Anne Forkutza, head of market expansion and industry relations at Dutchie, which specializes in payment systems for cannabis businesses across the country, agreed.

While Dutchie has helped some cannabis retailers in California open pop-up shops at events like concerts and festivals, a marketplace that features multiple growers and is an event unto itself is “definitely unique,” Forkutza told Retail Brew.

Keep reading here.—AAN

All right, everyone, the time has come: Gen Z underwear brand Parade has agreed to be sold. The buyer? Ariela & Associates International, an intimates manufacturer and licensee of Fruit of the Loom, CNBC reported.

Though the purchase price remains undisclosed, the brand was reportedly worth $200 million in August 2022.

While on the surface, Ariela & Associates has a lot to gain from the new acquisition, including Parade’s “internet’s favorite underwear brand” status, its young, enthusiastic customer base, and its digital presence, Parade may also benefit from a larger infrastructure and increased ability to scale.

Keep reading here.—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Get out: In a new book, the owner of In-N-Out Burger writes that store managers at the chain can earn on average $180K annually, which is a lot more than you’d likely make for the same job elsewhere in the fast food industry. (Insider)

A new age: Move over, basic luxury hotels—IV drips and ozone saunas are defining a new age of “wellness tourism” for wealthy travelers. (Vogue Business)

A tale as old as discounting: Mail-in rebates are quickly becoming a thing of the past as app-based reimbursement options take over. (Modern Retail)

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. Forget being a CEO; Shake Shack is now advertising a Chief Avocado Officer role that pays $3,000 in the form of an “avocado stipend.”
2. Eggo has partnered with a distilling company to launch something called Eggo Brunch in a Jar, a cream liqueur that combines waffle, bacon, and maple syrup flavors.
3. Ocean Fathoms, a California-based wine retailer, was ordered to destroy 2,000 bottles of wine that were aged at the bottom of the Santa Barbara channel for 12 months.
4. An Italian man is suing Dunkin’ in Italy for serving “inauthentic espresso.”

Keep reading for the answer.