Cashiers

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
88%
risk level
POLLING
91%
Based on 1,220 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
-10.0 %
by year 2032
WAGES
$28,240
or $13.58 per hour
Volume
3,296,040
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
1.4/10

Want this summary on your site? Embed code:

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(s) are 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 09-2023.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Cashiers' was $28,240, or $13 per hour

'Cashiers' were paid 39.0% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 3,296,040 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 44 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

Resources

If you're thinking of starting a new career, or looking to change jobs, we've created a handy job search tool which might just help you land that perfect new role.

Search jobs in your local area

Comments

Leave a comment

Steve (Moderate) says
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!
Aug 31, 2023 at 04:44 AM
Faith (Low) says
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.



Jul 05, 2023 at 12:30 AM
Kale (Highly likely) says
Self check outs are a thing.
Jan 04, 2023 at 01:15 PM
VK (Highly likely) says
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.
Jun 18, 2022 at 01:08 AM
Timothy Lynch (Highly likely) says
Currently in place and being tested. Will not work at all stores though.
Mar 13, 2022 at 05:31 PM
W (Highly likely) says
It already has been substantially taken over by automation
Dec 14, 2021 at 08:23 PM
Susan says
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."
Sep 10, 2021 at 01:58 AM
Mark (Uncertain) says
Nothing is ever all or nothing. We like variety, for all tastes. Digital books. Paper books. Etc. Etc.
May 05, 2021 at 09:41 PM
Michał (Highly likely) says
It's a really easy job and currently it is automated
Feb 26, 2021 at 09:08 AM
Tortilla (Highly likely) says
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.
Jul 11, 2020 at 06:55 AM
Dick Hurtz (Highly likely) says
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.
May 23, 2020 at 03:21 AM
M says
I’m a cashier I hope I get replaced I seriously hate my boss
Apr 20, 2020 at 06:39 PM
Lieven says
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.
Jan 24, 2023 at 03:08 PM
Jen Leonard (Highly likely) says
Many cashiers have already been replaced by self checkouts.
Mar 25, 2020 at 01:02 PM
Elliott (No chance) says
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.
Mar 07, 2020 at 10:28 PM
Urmum says
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.
Aug 09, 2021 at 10:32 AM
lol says
***holes took my job 2 years at jack in the box
Feb 19, 2020 at 05:57 PM
Darian Mongiovi says
I work in retail and I have some some ideas about why automation hasn't already taken over.

1. Retail businesses may not have the profit margins to invest in robots/kiosks, the risk of this investment simply does not outweigh potential gains from it.

2. People are stupid and need help. People get frustrated already with kiosks, between finding things, coupon issues, questions about products, getting heavy things to vehicles. In a lot of retail settings cashiers double as customer service. Tech is ever evolving and it is hard for the average person to keep up, you would not believe how often I have to explain to people how to simply use there credit card.

3. Human to Human communication has a very large impact of returning customers. friendliness ratings have a very significant effects on weather or not a customer returns. robots simply cant recreate this.

4. retail businesses are constantly changing hands. When owners change so does the tech solutions, and integrating systems from different companies has caused many costly problems for retailers. Adding robots that run on these complicated inventory systems is just one more thing that can go wrong and potentially cause far more losses than the cost of an employee.

5. Tech is a business and the wouldn't be pushing for automation in retail without the potential for future profits. competition would lead to planned obsolescence and a lack of industry standards. This will mean that automation will not only be a huge investment, but will also come with routine costs to run. In the long run it may not be at all cheaper to replace minimum wage employees, If it made fiscal sense why hasn't macdonalds already done it? Big companies would have made the transition long ago if it was a guaranteed way to raise profits.
Feb 03, 2020 at 12:23 AM
iz me Alex (Highly likely) says
I can definitely see robots taking over cashiers! No more chatty cashiers LOOOOOL
Jan 16, 2020 at 07:27 PM
Smol bean (Highly likely) says
Well I mean, every grocery store I go to there is almost always a self-checkout so... It's very likely the job will be taken over by robots.
Jan 01, 2020 at 04:41 PM
Kaler (Low) says
People need jobs and these will always be available
Dec 13, 2019 at 02:59 PM
Michael says
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Jul 04, 2020 at 12:46 AM
Donovan Briggs (Highly likely) says
I am literally certain no doubt they will be taken by automation.
Dec 09, 2019 at 01:51 AM

Leave a reply about this occupation

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

People also viewed

Lawyers
Computer Programmers
Preschool, Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Special Education Teachers
Graphic Designers
Accountants and Auditors