Cashier Weekly Brief: June 10–16, 2025
This week, the retail landscape continued its dynamic evolution, bringing significant updates for cashiers and the broader industry. The focus remains squarely on efficiency, customer experience, and adapting to technological advancements, with major retailers re-evaluating strategies and new POS software launching.
Key Cashier & Retail News
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Retailers Re-evaluate Self-Checkout Strategies Amid Rising Concerns
Major U.S. retailers are re-evaluating their reliance on traditional self-checkout systems, with some, like Dollar General, removing them from thousands of stores. This shift is driven by concerns over increased theft and declining customer satisfaction, as many prefer human interaction. Companies like Wegmans have already discontinued self-checkout mobile apps due to unsustainable losses, and regional grocer Booths in the UK also reversed course. This indicates a move towards refining automation, focusing on optimizing the checkout experience for both loss prevention and customer satisfaction.
Published: June 11, 2025
Retailers Rethink Checkout Tech -
U.S. Real-Time Payments Drive Cloud Adoption for Scalability
The U.S. financial ecosystem is rapidly transforming with the increasing adoption of real-time payment systems. Financial institutions are migrating to cloud-based platforms to efficiently process diverse transactions across networks like RTP® Network and FedNow® Service, ensuring scalability for growing transaction volumes. This directly impacts cashiers by enabling faster payment approvals and fewer delays at the point of sale, improving customer satisfaction and transaction throughput. This trend reinforces the growing dominance of digital payments and a continued reduction in reliance on cash.
Published: June 11, 2025
US Real-Time Payments Need the Cloud to Scale -
Global Payments Unveils New POS Software for Small and Medium Retailers
Global Payments has launched “Genius for Retail,” a new point-of-sale (POS) software specifically for small and medium-sized retail businesses, initially in the U.S. This solution streamlines operations by accepting various payment methods, including cards and mobile wallets, and offers integrated features like inventory management and employee scheduling. The software is positioned as an “innovative command center” to optimize performance and provide real-time data. This signifies POS systems evolving into central hubs for managing entire retail operations, requiring cashiers to be more technologically proficient.
Published: June 10, 2025
Global Payments Launches POS Software for Retailers -
U.S. Retail Sector Sees Significant Layoff Spike in Early 2025
The first five months of 2025 have seen a substantial 274% increase in retail layoffs across the U.S. compared to last year, with 75,082 job cuts announced. Major chains like Macy’s are contributing significantly, planning to close 150 stores by the end of 2026. This trend is attributed to declining sales, economic uncertainty, and intense pressure on workforces, making retail the second-leading industry for job cuts this year. This challenging job market for cashiers emphasizes the need for upskilling and adaptability to omnichannel retail models.
Published: June 10, 2025
Store closures lead to massive 274% spike in retail layoffs in the first half of 2025 | The Independent
Tools & Tips
- Shopify POS Version 10: A Major Upgrade for In-Store Efficiency Shopify has released a significant upgrade to its Point of Sale (POS) system, Version 10, promising a faster and smarter in-store selling experience. This update introduces quicker navigation, more precise search capabilities, and a dynamic cart that adapts to various selling scenarios. For POS Pro users, new features like “Ship and Carryout in One Checkout” and integrated store credit management are available. These advancements make POS systems more intuitive and powerful, simplifying complex tasks and improving transaction speed for cashiers.
Shopify Summer Editions 2025: What’s New, What’s Next
Fun Fact
Did you know that the very first product to be scanned with a Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode at a grocery checkout was a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum? This historic moment occurred on the morning of June 26, 1974, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. This seemingly small event profoundly revolutionized the retail industry, laying the groundwork for the ubiquitous scanning technology that cashiers utilize billions of times daily around the world.
Pack of chewing gum becomes first-ever item scanned with a UPC barcode | June 26, 1974 | HISTORY
We’d love to hear from you! Have you participated in any Cashier events or utilized new Cashier tools recently? Share your experiences or insights with us—we’re featuring selected community voices in next week’s edition.