After a long season in which numerous thefts have occurred at the Walmart retail chain’s self-checkout counters, the retail brand’s CEO has issued stern warnings. As indicated in a statement, the number of shoplifting has increased significantly. That problem can trigger the closure of certain stores or even price increases on many products, see the new anti-theft measure.
If there is one thing Walmart is known for, it is for offering its customers a wide selection of products at the best prices. However, the succession of robberies in the stores spread throughout the U.S., making the chain’s situation more and more in danger. To solve this serious problem, they have upgraded the self-checkout machines with a technology that aims to eliminate one of the most common theft practices used to date, known as the Banana trick.
What solution will put an end to the famous Walmart shoplifting trick?
This fraud, committed by hundreds of fraudsters in Walmart stores, is based on scanning an expensive product with the label of another one with a much lower price on the self-checkout machine. In this way, they avoid being discovered so readily since, in theory, they are making a purchase like any other customer. However, they are committing fraud by acquiring high-value products at exceptionally low prices.
To overcome this problem, which has been increasing over the years, Walmart has proposed improvements to its self-checkout machines. The most important is AI technology, which Edgify has produced. This new system gives the device the function it needs to see what product is being scanned by the customer and whether it matches the label on it.
In social networks, we can see that there are already several customers who have gone to their trusted Walmart store to test whether this update in the system is effective or not. To the surprise of many, the self-checkout machine can identify the product and compare it with the label it carries to determine whether if it is the same product to prevent shoplifting.
In this way, improving the self-payment machine system is precisely the solution needed to completely stop the thefts that have been a severe problem for Walmart for months. The change in the labels has resulted in a loss of money for the supermarket chain, a situation that cannot continue. If the problem does not improve, Walmart executives will take drastic measures that will affect customers.
How Artificial Intelligence can prevent self-checkout theft
The method most commonly used by thieves in self-pay may have seen its last day’s thanks to AI-powered machines that can recognize items without a code for prevent shoplifting.
The so-called “banana trick” is a technique used to steal in self-pay that involves charging an expensive item like shrimp, which sells for more than $20, at the price of an inexpensive item like a banana, which averages around $0.49 per pound.
A company focused on retail-based AI technology, SeeChange Technologies, and Diebold Nixdorf, create “AI-powered self-checkout (SCO) solutions” with Fresh Produce Recognition, the companies announced in a press release on January 16.
How do thieves steal in these new supermarkets, same Walmart Banana trick?
There have even appeared a series of terms and tricks for stealing in supermarkets that move in forums, such as the “banana trick,” which consists of passing steaks as if they were potatoes.
Another fashionable misdeed among self-collecting thieves is “the switcheroo,” which consists of swiping a barcode of something cheap to charge you for something expensive.
New York shoplifting hit record levels last year: ‘We can’t stop them’
The Big Apple has become a thieves’ paradise: reported retail thefts hit record levels for the second year in a row in 2022, a Post analysis of police data shows so the problem isn’t just Walmart’s problem
The statistics show that the number of shoplifting complaints rose to more than 63,000 last year, a 45% increase over the roughly 45,000 reported in 2021 and a nearly 275% increase compared with the mid-2000s.
What is the penalty for shoplifting in new york
The most common shoplifting charge in New York is Petit Larceny, PL 155.25, which is punishable by up to 1 year in jail when the value of the stolen property exceeds $1,000, a person can be charged with a felony as grand larceny, which is punishable by imprisonment in state prison.
