How the rise of shoplifting is forcing self-checkouts to retreat

As the cost of theft increases, retailers are beginning to question the use of unmanned scanning devices.

One shoplifting technique has become so popular that staff members have named it.

The “banana tricks” involves putting a product through and a self-checkout, thinking it is a cheap fruit/vegetable item. But you end up with something much more expensive.

In a viral TikTok video, one user jokes that they got a TV and Playstation by entering them as grapes or a banana at a self service checkout.

Paul Foley is the former UK head of Aldi. He says that it is difficult to determine how much theft is intentional and how much is a mistake. “But it is a fact that supermarkets lose more money through self-scanning tills than they do with manned ones.”

According to some studies, shoplifters can be 21 times more likely than humans to steal items from a machine. A survey conducted by marketing website Fat Joe in the UK found that 40pc out of 2,500 respondents admitted to shoplifting. Self-service checkouts were cited as the main reason.

The rise in shop thefts is part of a larger boom in retail crimes. According to industry data, the number of shop thefts has more than doubled across Britain over the last year.

An increase in shoplifting has plagued grocery chiefs for years after they poured cash into self-service check outs, only to realize that it was contributing to thefts. In the last five years, self-checkouts have increased from 53,000 to 88,000 in UK supermarkets.

The US has also seen a significant rollout. In a study conducted in 2021, it was found that 96pc US food retailers have self-service checkouts. Crime rates are also on the rise in this country, and US supermarkets have started to retreat from self service tills.

Target, with almost 2,000 locations in the US, announced last week that it would introduce a limit of 10 items on how much customers could pay at self-service checkouts. It also said it would open more traditional manned lanes within its stores.

Dollar General, among others, has said that they will remove self-service check outs to combat theft.

The company announced plans earlier this month to convert self-service checkouts from 300 stores to manned ones in thousands more. Todd Vasos said that he thought this would have a positive impact on the theft rate.

Dollar General uses artificial intelligence to identify the stores that are most prone to shoplifting.

Brittain Ladd, former Kroger consultant and self-checkout advocate, says that the tide is changing. Many retailers are tired of the thefts that occur when customers use self check-out.

Christopher Andrews, associate professor at Drew University, who has written on supermarket self-checkouts, says that the change in technology is not surprising, and it has been coming since some time.

Andrews says that stores soon realized they would lose more money if they did not staff the self-checkout lane.

He says that the staffing of these self-service stations meant that grocers could not employ less people. Now they are left with expensive technology which, if not closely monitored, could cost them money. “They let the proverbial bottle of genies out and now they’re not sure what to do.”

Booths announced last year that it would eliminate self-service check outs in all of its UK stores except two. This decision was made because customers found self-service checkouts to be slow and frustrating.

Booths’ managing director Nigel Murray said that they stock a large number of loose items, including fruit, veg, and bakery. “As soon as you do a self scan with these, you have to perform a visual check on them,” he added.

Some customers may not know the difference between one apple and another.

Other retail bosses have also pointed out the frustrations of customers using checkouts. Archie Norman of Marks & Spencer said in November that shoplifting among middle-class customers was increasing because of faulty check-outs.

The reduction in service that you see in many shops has led to a lot people thinking: “This didn’t scan correctly, or it was very difficult for me to scan through these items and I shop at this store all the time.” It’s my fault. I’m owed ‘…. You can see that with self-checkouts.

This could mean that more UK supermarkets follow their US competitors and remove the self-scanning check outs from stores. British supermarkets are still pushing to equip their stores with the latest technology.

Ken Murphy, Tesco’s chief executive officer, defended the drive last summer to install more technology that scans products automatically. He said it would “free people to do other things in the shops to ensure that the products are on the shelves you can find”.

M&S will be adding more checkouts to its clothing and homeware departments , as well as in its food stores.

Foley said it was easy to see why UK retailers were making such moves.

It comes down in part to the amount of space that supermarkets have. Self-service checkouts can fit in much more space than traditional tills.

The recruitment challenges are also significant in the UK, and locating supermarket workers is difficult.

Foley says that it is so hard to find people in big cities like London, and many checkouts are self-service. If you can’t locate the staff, there’s no other option.

In the UK supermarkets prioritize installing better technology. This includes tools such as AI and facial recognition that can be used to stop criminals.

Foley says that there are many jokes about the unexpected items that can be found in the bagging area. However, technology is now able to detect these more easily. There are a lot more sophisticated tools in development.

The “banana tricks” that shoppers have used in stores may be a thing of the past, but they are soon to disappear. Supermarkets are taking action to end the “best life hack” by reducing self-service checkouts and upgrading technology.