Walmart is scaling back self-checkout at select locations, signaling a broader shift away from automation as concerns about theft and customer experience continue to reshape in-store strategy. The move has already taken hold at a South Philadelphia store, where self-checkout lanes were removed in March and replaced with staffed registers. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer , the South Christopher Columbus Boulevard location is currently the only one in Philadelphia to fully roll back self-checkout, a company spokesperson said. Instead, the store has returned to a cashier-led model, with employees handling transactions that were previously automated. A limited number of self-checkout kiosks remain available, but only for Spark delivery drivers fulfilling online orders. The shift comes as retailers increasingly confront “shrink”—industry terminology for theft and inventory loss—much of which has been tied to self-service systems.…