Self-checkout and the ethical test of the cashier-free line

Most of us probably don't think of using a grocery store's self-checkout as a moral test but the cashier-free lines are at the heart of an emerging dilemma for both stores and normally lawful citizens. 

Fast and convenient for customers, self-checkout saves stores money. But no cashier means it's easier and more tempting to commit theft, whether petty or for larger items.

"There's a lot more opportunity presented with self-checkouts because social proof is removed so it doesn't quite villainize the theft," according to Brad Koltai, director of investigations and operations with Special Operations Security Group in Calgary.

The security expert used the term "social proof" to refer to a concept in psychology where people model their behaviour on the way others around them are behaving. 

If others aren't watching, there's less pressure

So according to Koltai, because most shoppers are law-abiding and will pay for their goods, other shoppers might do the same.

When people aren't around — either other patrons or a cashier — a shopper may not feel that pressure to behave similarly and refrain from stealing.

In an earlier interview with CBC News, U.K. criminologist Adrian Beck called stealing from self-checkout a crime of opportunity that turns shoppers into "part-time thieves."

"These aren't people who are setting out in the day going, 'You know what, I'm now going to go and steal some items from retailers,'" he said. "They're just taking the opportunity that they are presented with at these machines."

From 2016 to 2018, Beck studied retail sales losses caused by self-checkout theft and honest mistakes made by customers scanning their own items. The emeritus professor at the University of Leicester said it's hard to differentiate between the two acts, because a customer's intent is unknown.

Beck's research included interviewing and gathering data from 13 major U.K. and U.S. retailers such as Walmart and Target. Based on his findings, he estimates a large retailer with half its transactions being processed through self-checkout can expect added losses in the millions of dollars. 

SWIPERS versus switchers

A British criminologist has come up with terms to define two major types of self-checkout thieves.

SWIPERS refers to "Seemingly well-intentioned patrons engaged in regular shoplifting," according to Emmeline Taylor.

These are people who don't go into a store intending to steal but may make off with an extra item after the classic "unexpected item in bagging area" error message, or perhaps they put in the wrong code and paid a bit less.

Taylor defined these people as a group that would never steal from an actual person, but when they are dealing with a machine it feels more like gaming the system.

Switchers is the term Taylor used to refer to customers who plan to steal, deliberately.

"Some of these individuals might switch labels, so they might find a discounted item that's nearing the use by date and they'll take the ticket off that particular product and put it on another item," said Taylor.

Cost of theft versus benefit of fewer staffers

While theft of all kinds costs Canadian retailers billions of dollars each year, stores can save a lot of money — in theory — by using self-checkouts.

Stores have now introduced screens above the self-service checkout with a video camera … the idea behind it is, we don't like to see ourselves being dishonest.- Emmeline Taylor, criminologist

If you have one store clerk overseeing three to four self-operated cash registers, as opposed to one clerk per till, that can add up to a significant difference in payroll. Even if those staffers are shifted to the shop floor, rather than being laid off, that can help to increase sales.

Retailers are also upping their game when it comes to surveillance, according to Emmeline Taylor.

"Stores have now introduced screens above the self-service checkout with a video camera so that as you're scanning your goods, you can actually see yourself on the screen. And the idea behind it is we don't like to see ourselves being dishonest," said Taylor.

Earlier this year, the Retail Council of Canada told CBC News it doesn't have specific data on self-checkout theft, but believes the problem is small compared to the more calculated crime of shoplifters concealing items and exiting a store.

Written by Anis Heydari, with files from Sophia Harris. Produced by Jennifer Keene.
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