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RETAILERS have been forced to make drastic changes to combat theft or risk closing more stores.
Major retailers such as Costco, Walmart, and Target have had to close several stores in the last year, claiming that a rise in theft has forced their hand.
Retail crime resulted in over $112 billion in losses last year, up from $93.9 billion in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation.
Big-box stores have resorted to making several controversial changes to how they operate in order to fight back.
BODY CAMS
Many retailers have begun to invest in body cams for employees to deter theft.
Stores anticipate that body cams will help them account for the blind spots of security cameras, Forbes reported.
Body cams also can record audio which will provide retailers additional evidence to prosecute shoplifters.
The outlet reported that retailers also expect body cams to help deescalate confrontations between shoplifters and loss prevention officers since thieves will know they have been caught on camera.
PICTURE IDS
Membership stores like Costco and Sam’s Club have long asked customers to present a picture ID that matches their membership card when checking out, in order to crack down on people sharing memberships.
However, membership retailers are now asking for picture IDs at self-checkout as well, in order to prevent any loopholes where non-members take advantage of membership benefits.
Customers who cannot present both a membership card and a matching photo ID will be unable to complete their purchases, The U.S. Sun previously reported.
LOCKED CABINETS
Retailers have also resorted to locking up items that they deem a high risk for theft.
While some items, like electronics, make sense to keep secured, customers have expressed frustration over having seemingly ridiculous items like body wash and Tide pods under lock and key.
Customers have also complained that these anti-theft measures have made shopping so inconvenient they have often resorted to purchasing items from delivery sites or competitors like Amazon.
RECEIPT CHECKS
One of the most controversial anti-theft measures retailers have implemented is asking customers to present their receipts at the door before exiting a store.
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Some customers understand that when they join retail memberships, like Costco or Sam’s Club, they agree to participate in this policy, but resent it when non-membership stores, like Walmart, use it.
Others feel that this policy is judgmental and insulting, The U.S. Sun previously reported.
However, some customers have taken to deliberately ignoring employees stationed at store exits to make a point.
VEHICLE REGISTRATION
If a retailer suspects a person of theft, they will make note of their personal details and exit on security cameras, rather than stop them in the store.
These details include credit card and car information, such as the model and license plate, to trace the identity of the thief.
Security can then run the vehicle’s information in the Department of Motor Vehicles database to help assist with an arrest.
SHOPPING CARTS
The mystery of why shopping carts will suddenly become impossible to move in store parking lots is actually due to anti-theft measures.
Shopping cart wheels are outfitted with a tiny motor that engages a brake system if the cart passes an underground cable that marks the perimeter of the store.
Freezing the shopping carts not only prevents store goods from being stolen but helps prevent the theft of the carts themselves, which can end up being an extremely expensive loss for retailers.
Stores will spend $15,000 every year for cart retrieval, maintenance, replacement, and city fines for abandoned carts, The Sun previously reported.
SELF-CHECKOUT
Retailers are most vulnerable to theft at self-checkout machines which is why they have updated them to include more advanced anti-theft technology.
Walmart has outfitted security cameras near their self-checkout machines with motion detectors that track what customers pick up around the store, so retailers will know if items that are unscanned are taken off the premises.
Employees also have devices that monitor and control self-checkout machines, so they can pause the customer’s scanning if they think items are going through without being scanned.
Customers then have to call an employee over to get the machine working again, allowing them to verify that all the items are being paid for.
