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The technology promised to make shopping easier. It has done the opposite
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The Walrus | Canada's Conversation
Saturday, June 22, 2024

From the author: “This year I became fascinated by the way companies trap their consumers and suppliers alike in markets they dominate and then, bit by bit, strip away anything resembling a decent customer or user experience. I started to think specifically that self‐checkouts, while perhaps seemingly innocuous or even convenient, were a part of this process of sharp deterioration and had been for decades. Maybe they were even the tip of the spear. The more I learn about them and their history, the more I think that’s true.”

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A headshot of Samia.
Samia Madwar
Senior Editor, The Walrus

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