Walmart worker reveals the sneaky way they find out when someone is stealing at self-checkout

The firm that provides the tech has been associated with Walmart for 25 years now.

PUBLISHED NOV 14, 2024

A man in a grocery store at a self-service checkout | (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Liubomyr Vorona)

In the aftermath of the pandemic that made contactless services a norm, self-checkout lanes have become a common sight in a large number of grocery stores. Although these lanes bring down labor costs for companies, they also increase the chances of shoplifting. To prevent theft, retail giants have also come up with ways to tell if a shopper is stealing. One Walmart employee known as @thewalmartguy6 9 on TikTok, described how they know when people are stealing, in a now-deleted video.

In the clip, the employee shows a small gizmo developed by Zebra Technologies that's designed specifically for retailers to "spy" on customers and survey the items that are brought to self-checkout. In the video, the device can be seen monitoring the items that customers scan and if there's anything that is missing, it raises an alarm. According to her, the scanner is supposed to tell whether or not there's anything shady about a shopper. According to Newsweek, the company Zebra Technologies supplies several retail giants in the US with scanners and software.

Man Uses Self-Checkout Kiosk at Grocery Store | (Image Source: Getty Images | Grace Cary)

According to Zebra's official website, Walmart and the company have been associated for over 25 years now. Currently, the company has deployed over 1.3 million devices throughout your operations. "At Zebra, we are constantly evolving to provide Walmart with the latest enterprise-edge devices. Investing in innovative technology designed to transform the fulfillment process and customer experience has become a core initiative for our company. Clickable links listed below for additional devices and solutions that we believe would be powerful tools for Walmart as you navigate your quest for customer centricity," the website says.

How does Walmart's new Security System Work?

Employee showing how the retail giant can tell when somebody's stealing | Image Source: TikTok | — Employee showing how the retail giant can tell when somebody's stealing in a now-deleted video | (Image Source: TikTok | @thewalmartguy69)

The innovative technology uses invisible barcodes that are imperceptible to the human eye. Unlike Traditional barcodes, these codes cover the entire surface of the product making it possible to scan items from any angle. The self-checkout machines are equipped with advanced scanners and can detect these codes even if a customer is trying to hide an item. With Walmart's new system, the retail giant no longer has to rely on customers to scan every product correctly, closing a significant loophole that has been exploited by many in the past.

Retail theft- a rising problem

Retail theft has become a real problem for companies like Walmart in recent times. Back in 2022, U.S. retailers lost a whopping $112.1 billion due to theft, which is a sharp rise from $93.9 billion in 2021. Self-checkout kiosks, while convenient, have contributed to this problem as they present opportunities for customers to skip scanning items.

According to Capitaloneshopping, "more than 20.1 million Americans have stolen from a self-checkout kiosk; 8.85 million plan to do it again. 69% of consumers say it’s easier to steal from a self-checkout kiosk than from a cashier. 33% of self-checkout shoplifters have been caught." Moreover, 6.6% of American consumers have stolen from self-checkout and plan to do it once again. However, there are also 21% of thefts that were later found to be accidental. Now with the installation of these technologies, there's a good chance the numbers will come down.