Shoppers who cheat at checkouts by self-checking, mistaking expensive items for cheaper items, could soon be hit with new technical checks.
As many as one in three admit to not paying for items when using self-scan checkouts, sometimes because they find them difficult and frustrating to use.
At the same time, shoplifters are targeting scan-only cash registers as an easy way to steal expensive items, such as cheese, steaks and razors.
Supermarkets have switched to self-scanning tills to cut costs, but the move has led to thefts estimated at more than £500m a year.
Supermarkets have switched to self-checkout to cut costs, but this has led to theft estimated at more than £500m a year
Retail crime experts said supermarkets were forced to test new technology to crack down on so-called swipers, an acronym for ‘seemingly well-meaning shoppers who engage in routine theft’.
These include devices that can determine when an item in the packaging area is a different size or color than the one scanned.
The new generation of cash registers can also detect unusual patterns. Most customers will only buy one bag of carrots, but if someone inspects five bags, the cash register will alert staff to possible fraud.
Professor Adrian Beck of the University of Leicester, who advises shops on anti-theft, said: ‘It’s very common for people to choose brown onions, which are cheap for weight, to represent things like bananas, avocados and grapes.’
He added that current systems ‘work on weight, so you can put a bottle of champagne and press the potatoes’. If [the scanner] can’t recognize what they look like, it will be perfectly happy with that’.
‘People make excuses for not following the rules like ‘there was a problem with the barcode’ or ‘they made me use this machine and I tried my best but it didn’t work’.’
New technology could be introduced including devices that can determine when an item in the packaging area is a different size or color than the one scanned
The professor analyzed the responses of 3,000 female store workers about self-service theft. He said a new system used in some supermarkets records the color of the item and allows the customer to select only items of the same shade, such as apples, zucchini and green peppers.
He added: ‘Other supermarkets have installed doors as you leave the till. If you scan items but don’t pay, the machine knows it and won’t let you go. A number of companies are trying it out.’
In another development, SuperSmart, an Israeli technology company, has developed a system that can weigh entire carts at checkout. This checks if the scanned items match the total weight.
Professor Emmeline Taylor, who specializes in retail crime at City University, London, coined the acronym ‘swipers’.
She told the Sunday Times: ‘Self-service has created a new breed of thief. Instead of seeing it as problematic, they get a kick out of it or see it as funny or socially acceptable in the way you wouldn’t if you stole a piece of cheese from Tesco.
‘I heard of one customer who cut the barcode off the noodles, because they were cheap and he knew their weight, and stuck his watch on it. He would scan that barcode and overlay the code on a package of cheese or chicken of the same weight.’
Reasons for leaving without paying included carelessness, a barcode not being scanned, forgetting to bring cash or a bank card to the supermarket, the cost of living or not being able to afford the item
An Australian supermarket only realized it was a victim of the Swiss when an audit showed it had sold more carrots than it had in stock. Managers realized that customers were putting expensive goods through the cash registers like carrots, and some were scanning up to 18 kg at a time.
According to a survey of 2,000 adults in the UK, one in three people admit to stealing from a self-checkout this year alone, albeit sometimes unintentionally.
Reasons given for leaving without paying included carelessness, a barcode not being scanned, forgetting to bring cash or a bank card to the supermarket, the cost of living or not being able to afford the item.
Research by Myfavouritevouchercodes.co.uk found that the most commonly stolen items at self-service checkouts are toiletries, fresh produce and baby milk.
