'It Was Such a Good Thing for My Anxiety at the Grocery Store': Wegmans Ends This Popular Service Because of Shoplifting This is why we can't have nice things.

By Gabrielle Bienasz Edited by Jessica Thomas

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Wegmans, a popular Northeast grocery chain based in Rochester, NY, told customers this week it is discontinuing its scan-and-go app, according to CNN.

The company said in a statement that offering the service was leading to excessive shoplifting. It also sent an email to customers explaining the decision, which was posted on Twitter.

"Unfortunately, the losses we are experiencing from this program prevent us from continuing to make it available in its current state," Colleen Wegman, the company's president and CEO, wrote in the email. Wegman also noted that the company has "tried many adjustments to keep it."

Introduced in 2019, the SCAN app allowed people to scan items as they went, see the total as they shopped, and leave the store without having to visit a checkout kiosk — a boon during the pandemic, per CNN.

The service will end Sunday, September 18, the company memo added. Users took to Twitter to express their sadness over the app's demise, which a few said helped with grocery store anxiety or stress about interacting with others.

Shoplifting has been on the rise, per Bloomberg, and increased when people were struggling during the pandemic, according to the Washington Post.

Wegmans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gabrielle Bienasz is a staff writer at Entrepreneur. She previously worked at Insider and Inc. Magazine. 

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