Big changes are surprising Publix shoppers. There’s no longer a need to count the number of items in your cart if you use the express lanes.
The Florida-based grocery store has removed the 10-item limit for the express lanes, several media outlets reported.
The company said the change will give workers more flexibility to manage customer flow and reduce wait times.
“To better serve our customers and improve checkout efficiency, we recently updated our express lane process to provide associates with greater flexibility in managing customer flow,” the company said in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times. “Rather than adhering to a specific item limit, our focus is on reducing wait times and ensuring customers can be served as efficiently as possible.”
A survey found that while traditional express lanes may appear to create a faster system, they don’t consistently do it, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune said.
The newspaper noted that the change may not have hit all stores yet, but some have already rolled it out.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune said that not all customers are embracing the change, with one saying on Reddit, “An express lane with no item limit is just another checkout lane.”
Another post echoed that feeling, writing, “Just make it another regular register and push SCO as the express option.”
“They got rid of the express lane at my store. It stands there empty, like a ghost observing the self-checkout machines,” a person wrote.
However, one person seemed to accept the change, writing, “I actually kinda like this. Express is meant for quick orders. 8 different bags of dog food is gonna take way longer than 15 cans of vegetables. Sometimes people say to me, ‘I have 12, is that ok?’ Yes, it’s fine lol. Just as long as it’s a quick order.”