Tiv Taam to Remove All Checkouts: What Will Replace Them

The Israeli supermarket chain Tiv Taam has announced plans to remove all checkouts from its stores and transition customers to self-service terminals. The first branch to implement the change will be in Ramat HaHayal, Tel Aviv, followed by nine other large supermarkets within a year. CEO Hagai Shalom cited a shortage of cashiers—the chain is short at least 100 workers. The vacated space will house Asian food sections under the brand 'East and West'.

The Israeli supermarket chain Tiv Taam has announced a radical change in its operational format: all checkouts in stores will be removed, and customers will be transitioned to self-service via special terminals. The first branch to implement the new system will be in the Ramat HaHayal area of Tel Aviv. Within a year, checkouts will disappear from nine other large supermarkets in Haifa, Be'er Sheva, Netanya, Rishon LeZion, Rehovot, Ashdod, Pardes Hanna, and Herzliya. CEO and group owner Hagai Shalom explained the decision as a response to an acute shortage of cashiers—the chain is short at least 100 workers. Each branch will retain two cashiers to assist customers who have difficulty with the terminals. In the vacated space, Tiv Taam plans to open Asian food sections under the brand 'East and West' (מזרח ומערב)—the chain recently acquired this company through its subsidiary Israco. The first such section will open in Ramat HaHayal in two months. Concurrently, the chain is investing hundreds of millions of shekels in real estate, has built a logistics center for Israco, and a robotic center for assembling online orders. A second branch in the new format is also opening in Rishon LeZion, with an investment of about 6 million shekels.