Protect Self-Checkout - California Grocers Association

Urge the Santa Ana City Council to Reverse Course

On May 5, the Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously in favor of a new law to restrict self-checkout in the city’s grocery stores. They took this action despite knowing a similar ordinance in Long Beach forced the city’s grocers to remove self-checkout stations, frustrating shoppers and leading to an increase in retail theft.

Here are the policies contained within the Santa Ana ordinance:

-Require one employee per three self-checkout stands to monitor the area

-Limit the number of items purchased at self-checkout to 15 or fewer items

-Restrict the types of items customers can bring to self-checkout, including banning items that are sometimes locked away due to retail theft like razors

The Santa Ana City Council took up this new law without speaking to the grocery industry first to learn about its consequences, and in the days that have followed, the city’s mayor and council members have continued to leave calls, emails, and requests for meetings with its grocery community unanswered.

Take Action

Californians want more convenience and lower grocery prices, not longer lines and a higher cost of living.

Contact the Santa Ana mayor and city council today to stand up for your industry and let them know they can’t ignore the consequences of their actions!

Santa Ana Self-Checkout Restrictions

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Keep Self-Checkout Convenient

Dear Mayor Amezcua and City Council Members,

I am writing in opposition to self-checkout restrictions in Santa Ana grocery stores.

This new law will eliminate a convenient option that customers rely on, while making groceries more expensive at a time when costs are already too high.

Long Beach's experience proves these restrictions don't work—stores simply shut down their self-checkout lanes entirely, leaving shoppers with fewer choices and longer lines. 

We also know adding employees to self-checkout stands will not reduce retail theft. That's because checkout employees are not trained to or allowed to intervene since it could put them in dangerous situations. Instead of taking aim at self-checkout, the city should look for other ways to help law enforcement and grocery stores stop thieves.

Please reconsider your self-checkout ordinance and preserve consumer choice and affordability in Santa Ana grocery stores.

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CGA in the News

Santa Ana to Mandate Staffing at Self-Checkout Lanes (Voice of OC)

Another Orange County City Considers Mandating Staffing at Self-Checkout Aisles (Voice of OC)

Another Southern California City Targets Self-Checkout (KTLA)

Santa Ana to Join Cities Regulating Self Service Checkouts (OC Register)

The Santa Ana City Council is Once Again Aiming to Raise Your Grocer Prices (New Santa Ana)