you have to put the item on the scale before it lets yo uscan the next item. So you can scan the same item twice if you scan it once, put the other item on the scale, and scan the item again.
Another nearby mega-chain still uses the scales and makes you bag every item before you can scan anything else. I don't ever shop there, almost entirely for that reason alone. I would definitely never knowingly shop at a store that was scanning my face and storing it in a database.