Ever since retailers had the idea that they could have customers scan and bag their own products, and installed rows of self-checkout machines in their stores, shoppers have tested the limits of what they could get by stealing. Ribeye steaks were branded like onions. The aged gouda is it fell in the bag without scanning it. The barcode of a cheap bottle of wine was pasted on one face. Some customers would scan everything perfectly and then casually walk away without paying.
But the era of self-checkout theft may be coming to an end. Retailers are fighting back, equipping their clunky machines with new technology ingenious, or reasonable facsimiles, capable of catching buyers in a lie and denouncing them.
With a record 200,000 machines shipped to stores around the world last year, up from 80,000 in 2019 (according to RBR consultancy), self-billing has become commonplace. Some retailers are even experimenting with self-checkout-only stores. And those that have stuck with traditional ATMs, such as clothing and home improvement stores, are beginning to install the machines.
Even Albertson’s, which had previously removed the machines from its stores, has been busy installing them again.
However, they are riddled with theft. Retailers that process half of their transactions through self-checkout can expect shrinkage losses, the industry term for non-productive inventory, are 75% higher than traditional payment in grocery stores, according to a study from the University of Leicester.
Is there someone who makes innocent mistakes in self-collection? Of course. It’s easy enough to enter the wrong code or drop something in your bag thinking it’s been scanned.. However, there are also those who play innocent when they are caught, claiming that they did not intend to steal. Because the risk has been so low, an entire generation of customers has been tempted to try shoplifting.
Old tricks, like trying to pass off a bottle of aged Bordeaux for a banana, are getting harder and harder to crack.
Ever since retailers came up with the idea that they could have customers, not employees, scan and bag their own products, and installed rows of monstrous self-checkout machines at the front of their stores, shoppers have tried limits of what they could achieve. with steal
Theft came in many forms. Ribeye steaks were branded like onions. The aged gouda slipped into the bag without scanning it. The barcode of a cheap bottle of wine was placed on one side. Some customers scanned everything perfectly and then casually left without paying.
The era of rampant self-collection theft may be coming to an end. Retailers are fighting back, outfitting their clunky machines with nifty new technology, or reasonable facsimiles, capable of catching shoppers in a lie and calling them out.
Self-checkout machines have become commonplace in stores, with a record 200,000 machines shipped worldwide last year, up from 80,000 in 2019, according to RBR consultancy. Some retailers, including Walmart, Kroger and Dollar General, are experimenting with self-checkout-only stores. Retailers that have stuck with traditional ATMs, such as clothing and home improvement stores, are beginning to install the machines. Even Albertson’s, which had previously removed the machines from its stores, has been busy installing them again.
However, they are riddled with theft. Consider this: Retailers that process half of their transactions through self-checkout can expect shrinkage losses, the industry term for non-productive inventory, to be 75% higher than traditional checkout at grocery stores. , according to a study by the University of Leicester.
Do some people make innocent self-checkout mistakes? Of course. It’s easy enough to enter the wrong code or drop something in your bag thinking it’s been scanned. However, many determined thieves play innocent when caught, claiming they did not mean to steal.
Because the risk has been so low, an entire generation of customers has been tempted to try shoplifting. “Any shopper can be very emboldened by the cloak of excuses that surrounds self-checkout,” explains Adrian Beck, professor of criminology at the University of Leicester.
To discourage bad behavior, retailers have come up with a few tricks. Many of the machines have large video screens that are intentionally installed on a customer’s face to give them the feeling that they are being watched.. Others go further and show the face of the buyer on the real computer screen, where it is impossible to ignore it. It is meant to be more of a psychological deterrent than anything else. The video is not actually recorded and may not be actively monitored by an employee.
Machines are also increasingly able to outwit the thief. Now, many can identify certain products, using a combination of cameras and artificial intelligence. For example, if a shopper leaves a steak but tries to brand it like an onion, the machine knows and will notice. Or if a shopper marks a green vegetable, the system will recognize it as green and only give the shopper the option to mark it as asparagus, green beans, or broccoli.
Beck explains that retailers have also been testing artificial intelligence technology that can identify when an item has been placed in the bagging area without scanning it correctly, with an accuracy rate that results in 80% fewer customer alerts than the antediluvian scale that is widely used in many self-checkout machines.
Wailing sirens and rotating red and blue lights to alert the store to a shoplifter have so far been frowned upon. The first course of action is usually to nudge the customer, giving them a notice on the screen that says what has been detected and asking them to try again. «LThe good thing about these types of opportunists is that you can bring them back to honesty pretty easily.because they really don’t want to get caught,” explains Beck.
Retailers often want to give the buyer the benefit of the doubt. After all, accusing someone by mistake may mean never coming back to your store again. In U.S.A the merchant has a 50% threshold, meaning they declare a customer good if they successfully scan half of their items.
“Making sure you don’t alienate that customer is really important. Because they might have made a mistake. What we don’t want to do is treat them like thieves and ultimately give them a bad experience so they don’t come back to that store,” says Matt Redwood, director of advanced self-service solutions at Diebold Nixdorf, whose self-checkout machines are used by retailers. like Ikea and Lidl.
Don’t be surprised if an employee gets involved. Retailers are increasingly putting out alerts for workers who are monitoring the self-checkout area, informing them of any possible foul play and advising them how to act. In a situation, the employee may be told to visually control the situation, but not yet to participate. They may be instructed to approach the suspicious customer and simply ask how they can help. Or they may be shown a five-second video playback of a customer shoplifting, and instructed to confront the customer about it.
Traders are also starting to put your best employees in the self-checkout areaarmed with special training, says Beck: “It wasn’t that long ago, when you were talking to retailers about who they were putting to work in the self-checkout area, it was basically the walking wounded.”
The stakes have made them rethink that. “You could be responsible for ten machines having alerts at the same time. Who do you prioritize? The mom with the screaming child? The gang of kids? How do you keep the plates spinning? You need people who are real problem solvers and can deal with stress“, he concludes.