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Retail crime is skyrocketing, with thieves snatching up everything from diapers to toothpaste.
Across the country, major stores are implementing new security measures to crack down on crime.
Losses from organized retail crime have totaled $112 billion in 2022.
As losses increase for big businesses, prices on common products will also continue to climb and stores could begin to close.
Retailers like Nordstrom, Target, and Walmart have already shuttered multiple locations plagued by shoplifting.
Read Hayes is one of the faces behind the development of new anti-theft technology.
The lab director explained how over 80 retailers have utilized various tools that his team has designed to proactively prevent shoplifting and track thieves.
Hayes’ first creation is a set of gates that automatically shut if they sense someone is about to leave with many items they have not paid for.
Cameras are embedded in the product to help retailers identify the criminal later.
Another common device is a shield that locks over high-price items.
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The barrier also features a box where customers can call an employee to help them open it.
There is even an option for shoppers who don’t want to wait. They can simply put their phone number into the system and the barrier immediately unlocks.
Hayes also showed off a new speaker system that is connected to an AI vision tool which notifies shoppers that assistance is on the way when they have picked up too many of the same items.
As a last resort to curb shoplifting, stores can purchase shopping carts with wheels that immediately lock if someone has bypassed the cashier or checkout kiosks.
Shoppers can also expect to see more surveillance cameras tracking shoppers’ checkout movements.
Retailers can also take advantage of camera technology that grabs images of thieves’ license plates.
Hayes provided a quick response when asked whether he thought many retailers would invest in his technology.
“Some of them have to invest in it,” he noted.