Back in the old days, you asked for items the clerk got them and you paid. There was too much theft in the old days for open shelves. Now we leave it open and t

Back in the old days, you asked for items the clerk got them and you paid. There was too much theft in the old days for open shelves. Now we leave it open and trust - which has now been massively abused has expanded to fill that void. The clerks were labor intensive, but the similar robots to used in Amazon warehouses could serve people at a screen, the order assembled, paid and then handed to the client - much like online order and deliver - but in person. These huge costs will force this. Small stores will go to the old one at a time model service - most do this with cigarettes and liquor. It is a fine tuning of the retail chain that I feel will inexorable be forced upon us.