Shoplifting is an issue that affects every store known to man. It's a common enough occurrence, and not every retailer has the tech available to them to stop it, especially small businesses.
In a video shared by a Walmart employee, they show off one device used to monitor a high-theft area, the self-checkout. The reaction they got was likely not what they were expecting, though.
In a video that now has over 10 million views and 600k likes, uploaded by a user named @thewalmartguy69, they reveal a piece of tech used by self-checkout workers that could identify when someone is trying to steal.
With this monitor, it seems that employees have an exact count of every item a customer has scanned, and also alerts employees when someone needs help or an employee approval/override.
The on-screen text reads, "We know when you're stealing."
They make tech that focuses on tracking inventory along the supply chain, right down to when said inventory leaves the store.
How effective is it? Some comments revealed they might not be catching as many thieves as they thought.
"No you don't," said one user in response to the notion that employees know when you're stealing. "I walked out of Walmart with one of the big bags of dog food [because] I forgot to pay for it. It was under the cart, I didn't see it."
"[Yeah] no you don't [because] I literally walked out with $50+ worth of items on accident [because] I forgot to swipe my card," read another.
Many used the opportunity to rag on common Walmart employee practices.
"So you know when we are stealing but yet it takes someone 5 minutes to look up from their device when I need help?" one asked, over being patient.
A former employee even spoke up. "I worked at Walmart & they did not pay me enough to care lol. If I saw someone stealing I would turn around so quick."
The methods involve wrapping up clothes and putting them in either a backpack or another opaque container, simply not scanning the item under the cart like the accidental dog food thief, and bringing items into the bathroom to hide in clothing/bags.
No one seemed particularly threatened or worried, even those who did admit to shoplifting often. Clearly Walmart needs to step up their security if they really want to deter people.
Then again, maybe there's no persuading risky shoppers.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
