Smart Trolleys and Jobs in South Africa

The introduction of “smart trolleys” in supermarkets, which allow shoppers to scan and pay for groceries without cashiers, could threaten many retail jobs in South Africa. Major supermarket chains employ large numbers of staff: Shoprite Holdings (including Checkers) has over 168,000 employees, while Pick n Pay has around 90,000. Many of these workers are cashiers or perform cashier-related tasks.

If automation becomes widespread, a significant number of these positions could disappear. Unions warn that some stores could see “all cashiers” replaced, putting workers’ income and job security at risk.

Instead of capping jobs based on race, experts suggest that the government could limit how many roles AI and automation can replace each year, giving workers time to retrain and adapt. If smart trolleys and self-checkout expand nationwide, the impact could be thousands of lost jobs, worsening unemployment and economic insecurity in South Africa.