Somerset pensioners have launched a rebellion against self-service checkouts, urging shoppers to boycott the automated tills in a vivacious fight to combat elderly loneliness.
The Bridgwater Senior Citizens' Forum began their campaign in January after one member found "nobody on the tills" during an Asda visit.
The group, whose members range from 70 to 90 years old, meet monthly and plans to distribute leaflets to build momentum.
"I think it's quite a difficult battle but it's a very important one to fight," Glen Burrows told The Telegraph.
The elderly and youth of the English town have united to tackle the excessive number of self-scanning tills
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She pointed out that it was a working class town and, therefore, jobs were "very important" to the town as nearly 40 per cent of the town's residents were unemployed.
Ken Jones, 81, a retired shop owner and co-chair of the campaign, sees face-to-face checkouts as vital company since his wife died three years ago, as he declared, "isolation is a disease".
"Just saying 'hello, good morning', to somebody makes you feel better – and surely that's got no price," he said, brushing off self-checkouts as a form of "dehumanisation".
At the Marks and Spencer store in Bridgwater, 10 self-service checkouts sit in a row, largely unused while the single manned checkout has a queue five-people deep.
"If there's someone on the till, I would rather wait four or five minutes to have a conversation," explains Antony James, a 59-year-old resident.
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Barry Leathwood, 83, who has lived alone since his wife died, said: "It's nice to see a friendly face, rather than the machine."
The boycott has attracted support beyond pensioners, with younger residents come to fight out to fiercely defend their town's job market.
"Quite a lot of my mates have lost their jobs as a result of self-checkouts," Ajay Barrow, 18, said. "One of my mates who is also 18 was [working at a supermarket] for quite a while, but they've kept the adults and kicked out the younger ones due to the self-checkouts."
Youth unemployment in the south west stands at 14.6 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Morrisons' chief executive Rami Baitieh admitted the retailer had gone "a bit too far" with self-checkouts (Stock)
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Morrisons' chief executive Rami Baitieh admitted the retailer had gone "a bit too far" with self-checkouts, while northern grocer Booths has ditched them entirely after its boss said they hindered customer service.
However, the British Retail Consortium defended the technology, with insight director Kris Hamer stating: "The expansion of self-service checkouts is a response to changing consumer behaviours."
In the US, the backlash is even stronger as major American retailers - including Walmart, Target and Costco - have begun limiting or banning self-checkouts.
The Bridgwater campaigners warn that if supermarkets fail to address their concerns, tensions could rise.
"If retailers in this instance don't respond to human needs then there will be a war," warned Burrows, declaring that the situation will "escalate" if managers refuse to act "reasonably".
