Cashiers

Imminent Risk
89%
Where Would You Like to Go Next?
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Vote Comments (37)
Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
88%
(Imminent Risk)
POLLING
91%
(Imminent Risk)
Average: 89%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
-10.0 %
by year 2032
WAGES
$29,720
or $14.29 per hour
Volume
3,298,660
as of 2023
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
1.4/10

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Calculated automation risk

88% (Imminent Risk)

Imminent Risk (81-100%): Occupations in this level have an extremely high likelihood of being automated in the near future. These jobs consist primarily of repetitive, predictable tasks with little need for human judgment.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

91% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's very probable this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 88% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Cashiers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (quarterly)

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Cashiers' job openings is expected to decline 10.0% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2024.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Cashiers' was $29,720, or $14 per hour

'Cashiers' were paid 38.2% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 3,298,660 people employed as 'Cashiers' within the United States.

This represents around 2.2% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 46 people are employed as 'Cashiers'.

Job description

Receive and disburse money in establishments other than financial institutions. May use electronic scanners, cash registers, or related equipment. May process credit or debit card transactions and validate checks.

SOC Code: 41-2011.00

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Comments

Leave a comment

Felix 22 days ago
Yes self checkouts exist, but neurodivergent and people with disabilities may not be able to use it as easily. I think we should have both.
1 0 Reply
Sor (Low) 2 months ago
Self Checkout already exists, as much as cashier will be a slightly less common job over time, many likes the human interaction more than the self checkout convenience

Also most cashiers aren't only cashiers where i live at least
1 1 Reply
GAB (Highly likely) 4 months ago
There are already self check out systems
0 1 Reply
matej (Highly likely) 5 months ago
i think it robots will become cashiers because we already have self checkout booths and its not that hard to make a robot cashier probably
0 1 Reply
Ricardo (Moderate) 6 months ago
Because we kinda already have self checkout.

0 1 Reply
Steve (Moderate) 1 year ago
As far as cashiers are concerned. Since there are different types.

Say Walmart.. These cashiers will be replaced by the customers whom they currently serve. IT is already happening.

McDonalds and the like: These will most likely be replaced by inhuman automation, and most people will not even care as these people are the ones who brought it on themselves thinking that they DESERVE to make more per hour than someone who actually has a skill set. THIS TOO, is already starting to happen, and as I thought, most people are more than happy to do this task on their own.

At Walmart however, people are a little upset that self serve is overtaking jobs. Kinda cool how that works.

Karma Baby!
1 1 Reply
Faith (Low) 1 year ago
Some customers do not prefer self checkout and as menial as it seems, cashiering requires a lot of understanding. I did hear an article say 97% of cashiering jobs will be replaced, but I worked in warehouse with customers from different cultures, accents and English proficiencies, or lack thereof. AI may interpret the words of those accents and proficiencies. AI may also fail to interpret charades of people who do not speak English.

My position required asking if a customer has an account or the benefits of taking a servey. A person who doesn’t understand English might also misinterpret the robot if it’s not built to accommodate their language. Robots can also misinterpret speech impediments, or even alternative augmented communications. Sudden glitches can exacerbate this.

However, some English native speakers are very skilled in understanding and communicating with ppl who don’t speak English compared to the average English native speaker not familiar with their language. You don’t have to be familiar with a person’s native language in order to precisely interpret accents or charades, that is, better than other English native speakers, with or without writing. I could make some of those non English speaking customers understand that they’re being asked about a store account and that they can win money from a survey, with or without writing, and I don’t share an ethnic background with most of those customers. This can make the buying process quicker and less frustrating with human interaction.

Many of the customers mentioned have English speaking relatives or translators, and PCs have translators in virtually every language. The US has no official languages, so they find a way to maneuver without speaking English. Unlike PCs, store computers only have Spanish and English. (I was exposed to people from all continents.)

Verbal communication and body language are the most vital keys to cashiering with people if all languages, and that’s why we still have human cashiers.


Our inventory computer system renews every night and is thus sometimes not accurate, so an empathetic humanistic voice may calm a customer.

A number of native English speakers fear AI replacing cashiers, whether it’s machine breakdown, misinformation, possible machine complexity, or political motivation later in the future (since they might become more human like but won’t get paid, or have some disadvantageous algorithmic agenda.) In the future, customers may feel more comfortable attacking the machine than another person.



2 1 Reply
Felix 22 days ago
Yes! also for people with disabilities, self checkouts can be really inconvenient!
0 0 Reply
Kale (Highly likely) 1 year ago
Self check outs are a thing.
0 1 Reply
VK (Highly likely) 2 years ago
For most major retailers I will say yes, but you still have tons upon tons of Mom and pop stores that will still employ cashiers.
0 1 Reply
Timothy Lynch (Highly likely) 2 years ago
Currently in place and being tested. Will not work at all stores though.
0 1 Reply
W (Highly likely) 2 years ago
It already has been substantially taken over by automation
0 0 Reply
Susan 3 years ago
My grocery store only has self-checkout and I hate it. :/ It takes way longer and it's more work for me. I am not sure if that is even "automation."
0 1 Reply
Mark (Uncertain) 3 years ago
Nothing is ever all or nothing. We like variety, for all tastes. Digital books. Paper books. Etc. Etc.
0 0 Reply
Michał (Highly likely) 3 years ago
It's a really easy job and currently it is automated
0 0 Reply
Tortilla (Highly likely) 4 years ago
If there was a definitely option I would pick it because there's no way this won't be automated. It's easy to do (there are already self-checkouts) and its way cheaper than paying people.
0 0 Reply
Dick Hurtz (Highly likely) 4 years ago
There Is a high chance that cashiers will be replaced by automation as today we have online shopping becoming more and more popular and also people going "anti-cash", so as technology advances more and more that chance will go up.
0 0 Reply
M 4 years ago
I’m a cashier I hope I get replaced I seriously hate my boss
0 0 Reply
Lieven 1 year ago
Have your boss replaced. :-)
Sorry joke. In fact you're right. Most people quit their job because of a bad boss, not because of the job.
0 0 Reply
Jen Leonard (Highly likely) 4 years ago
Many cashiers have already been replaced by self checkouts.
0 0 Reply
Elliott (No chance) 4 years ago
Robots might severely cut down on the number of people employed as cashiers, but I doubt they can effectively replace human cashiers entirely. Only the human cashier still has the ability to ensure that the food went to the correct customer, as while a robot might blindly just give away food to a dishonest person who didn't purchase the meal.

So, there would still need to be at least one human employed in every restaurant to handle complaints by customers who didn't get their orders -- such as the manager.
0 0 Reply
Urmum 3 years ago
Have you not seen those shops where there is no cashier and no one supervising the place? Those outlets are completely AI-based and are already appearing around the world.
0 0 Reply
lol 4 years ago
***holes took my job 2 years at jack in the box
0 0 Reply

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