Supermarket shoppers fess up to self-service checkout stealing
New research has found that 16 per cent of Aussie shoppers are still scamming self-service checkouts, despite undercover security officers catching hundreds of thieves at the supermarket giants every week.
A survey of 2200 shoppers by Canstar Blue found that 7 per cent of customers admitted to stealing an item without scanning it, while 9 per cent confessed to not paying the full price by scanning the item as a cheaper product.
The numbers have remained the same from two years ago, suggesting that efforts by the supermarkets to crack down on self-service checkout theft haven’t proven successful.
“It’s still a huge problem,” said Canstar Blue editor Simon Downes. “What absolutely blew my mind is the number of people who are getting away with it.”
The items most likely to be stolen were fruits and vegetables (24 per cent), then packaged foods (16 per cent), snacks and drinks (12 per cent), baby products (12 per cent) and fresh packaged meats (10 per cent).
Of the survey respondents, only 5 per cent of those who had deliberately stolen an item had been caught. Just 10 per cent of those who had scanned a product as another item had been caught.
The research found that those aged 18-29 were the worst offenders of scamming the self-checkout system.
“It’s also worth keeping in mind that this survey reveals the number of people who admit to stealing,” Mr Downes said. “The true figure may be higher.”
Mr Downes said it appears that self-service checkouts have “opened the door to shoplifting” for customers who previously would never have considered it, because the risks were now “minimal”.
He said supermarkets must learn how to address the issue of customers being able to blame their theft on ignorance if they are caught out.
“How does a young self-service checkout operator make the distinction between someone who’s just unfortunate, maybe the machine isn’t working correctly, and someone who’s playing the system?” he said.
“It puts a lot of pressure on the shop assistants. That’s maybe why so many people are inclined to try to steal some of these items — they see a young, teenage shop assistant, they think, ‘Even if they challenge me I’ve got a ready-made excuse’.”
Mr Downes said this is when “eyes in the sky” camera technology and other tactics the supermarkets used to catch shoplifters were effective.
Australian company Tiliter Technology has been trialling an “artificial intelligence” camera system that will be able to instantly identify products, eliminating the need for a barcode so items cannot be incorrectly scanned, reported news.com.au.
A Coles spokeswoman said, “We find assisted checkouts offer a convenient choice for our customers. While the large majority of our customers do the right thing, it’s not fair that a small number of people get away with doing the wrong thing."
They added, “Like a number of retailers, we work with police to reduce shoplifting. There are also trained covert security officers in our stores nationally and they’re catching hundreds of thieves every week and reporting them to police."
A Woolworths spokesman said, “Self-service checkout is an incredibly popular and convenient option for customers short on time, and we know the vast majority of shoppers do the right thing when using them. We have security measures in place for those that don’t.”
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