According to my grandmother, Hess (the department store) introduced odd pricing for that very reason when she worked there while in nursing school. Apparently

According to my grandmother, Hess (the department store) introduced odd pricing for that very reason when she worked there while in nursing school. Apparently they had to send the receipt and the money via pneumatic tube back to the office where they would file the receipt, make change, and return it to the register. Customers would wait for their penny, helping to keep the employee from pocketing the cash and destroying the receipt.