Remember those pesky self-checkout receipts that printed after you said no? Change is coming

Thursday, 14 May 2026

Remember those annoying self-checkout receipts that printed anyway, even after you told the machine you didn’t want one?

We have an update for you.

In September 2025, Andy Clark wrote to us about a gripe he experienced at the supermarket self-checkout.

“Look, it’s a very minor thing, I'll be the first to admit, but jeez, it’s annoying at New World when it asks if you want to print a receipt, you say no, and it prints one anyway.”

What Clark was referring to was not the grocery receipt, but the fuel voucher, usually offering 6c off per litre at certain petrol stations, or more depending on how much you spend at the supermarket.

Over the phone, Clark said it was a bad customer experience when the self-checkout goes to the trouble of asking, only to ignore the response.

Clark hoped we might look into it as part of our Solving stuff project. We did, and it turned out our readers were just as passionate.

“Ahh, so I’m not the only one who finds those things very obnoxious and throws them straight in the bin,” wrote Stuff commenter ThinkSpork. “Why not make them digital in your app, New World? Save a lot of paper!!”

Kernunno described the unwanted receipts as “irksome”, adding: “I’ve designed self-service kiosks in the past. It’s just poor user interface design and sloppy user experience testing.”

ShadesofGrey had some thoughts on the environmental impact: “The thermal paper used in checkout receipts is non-recyclable or biodegradable. It contains a chemical coating. If you think about the volume of receipts minute after minute, day after day… it all adds up to a major issue.”

Massey University school of management and marketing associate professor Dr Sandy Bulmer, who had researched self-checkouts, said asking the customer if they want a receipt, fuel docket, both or nothing at all could be a simple fix.

She also suggested giving customers the voucher electronically, via an app or loyalty card, something Woolworths already did with its Everyday Rewards card.

When we first published a story on this issue, Foodstuffs said it was reviewing how it offered the fuel discounts.

Now, as of May 8, the pesky receipts are no more - unless you want one. A spokesperson confirmed its North Island customers are now asked whether or not they’d like a receipt and fuel voucher.

“Customers who select ‘yes’ will receive both a receipt and fuel voucher, while those who select ‘no’ will receive neither. If the screen is left idle, nothing will print.”

It hoped the update to its systems, which was gradually being rolled out across New World and Pak’nSave stores, would reduce unnecessary waste and create a simpler checkout experience.

Foodstuffs general manager of membership and property Greg Stone said the company was committed to reducing waste.

“This is a real win for our stores and for our customers. We’ve listened to feedback and our teams have delivered a solution that reduces confusion and reduces unnecessary waste at the checkout.”

We called Clark, who first wrote to us with the gripe, to see if he’d used a self-checkout in the last week or so.

“I have actually, and I noticed it didn’t spit anything out.”

Asked what he thought of the changes, he said it was a great idea.

“A little victory for common sense.”

We’re not claiming this as a Solving stuff win, given Foodstuffs was already looking into it, but we have managed to solve some of our readers’ pet peeves with this project.

That included getting Air New Zealand to drop a $4000 charge to add a missing name to a flight ticket and getting a woman’s private driveway removed from Google Maps.

If you’ve got a problem you’d like us to have a go at solving, let us know using the form below.