Scan and Go: Walmart boosts self-checkout by letting customers ring in items while shopping.

Starting today, Oct. 23, Walmart will roll out scan and go in 20 more Canadian stores. It's the latest offshoot of the self-checkout craze, fuelled by retailers' attempts to curb costs and make the in-store shopping experience as painless as possible.

Customers can scan items while they shop, cutting down their checkout time. This is how scan and go works: shoppers pick up a portable scanner in the store and scan the barcode on their items before putting them in the shopping cart. The scanner tallies the bill and customers bag their items themselves. They can either pay at the cashier or use self-checkout.

In the U.S., Walmart has made the process even faster by replacing the scanner with a mobile app.Walmart Canada also aims to offer customers the app, which is catching on with some U.S. shoppers.

Some are very happy with the technology but others fear the technology will lead to the demise of the cashier, forcing shoppers to do all the work.

According to Walmart Canada, scan and go has not resulted in any job losses and the retailer is offering it purely to make shopping more convenient.

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