Over the past year, Target has implemented numerous changes to its self-checkout system, including item limits, increased security, and reduced hours of operation. These measures are aimed at preventing theft, but many customers find them frustrating.
As it turns out, trusting customers to do the right thing has proven to be a costly gamble for Target. Loss prevention experts argue that these self-checkout kiosks are a financial liability due to rising theft rates. Cory Lowe, Director of Research at the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC), candidly states, “It’s essentially putting customers on the honor system, which you can only imagine how bad that can go.”
While self-checkout is “very desirable” for customers, Lowe notes that it comes with a “risk of shopper error while using the systems.” And it’s not just innocent mistakes we’re talking about. In Florida, a man was accused of swapping barcode stickers on Pokémon trading card packs at Target’s self-checkout machines. Richard Reppert now faces over two dozen counts of theft and fraud after allegedly paying $4.99 for items that normally cost over $50 each. He reportedly engaged in this fraudulent activity for three consecutive months before being caught. Lowe calls this type of fraud an “enormous issue.”
Target is scrambling to combat this problem, trying various strategies like “receipt checking” and “reducing the number of items that are allowed to be scanned at a self-checkout area.” Lowe even suggests a self-checkout loyalty membership as a potential future solution.
“Restricting self-checkouts to only people who have identified themselves, so if I’m a loyalty card member,” Lowe explains. “It’s a value exchange, right? I’m trading personal information for reduced friction, shopping.”
While Target hasn’t announced plans for such a membership program, they are reportedly planning to install new anti-theft technology called Truscan in their self-checkout lanes. This technology will detect anything near a kiosk that has not been scanned, releasing audio and visual cues if an item isn’t scanned correctly. It will also keep a digital record of customers with a history of improper scanning. Truscan is expected to roll out sometime this year.
It’s about time Target took more aggressive steps to address this issue. The idea of a self-checkout honor system was doomed from the start. The real question is, will these new measures be enough to stem the tide of theft that’s plaguing the retailer?
Target’s attempts to balance convenience for customers with the need to prevent theft highlight a broader issue in retail: the struggle to maintain trust while ensuring security. As these new technologies and strategies are implemented, only time will tell if they can effectively reduce theft and restore some order to the chaotic world of self-checkout.
For now, one thing is clear: the days of freewheeling, unsupervised self-checkout might be coming to an end, much to the relief of Target’s bottom line and the chagrin of those who took advantage of the system.
