All Target Stores To Get Self-Checkout Cameras To Curb Theft: Report

ACROSS AMERICA — Say "Cheese!" Target shoppers.

The Minneapolis-based retail giant is installing TruScan cameras for its self-checkout stations at all stores this year, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing internal documents. The technology tracks shoppers who "repeatedly fail to scan their items," the documents said, according to the report.

As Patch previously reported, Target said it was forced to close nine stores across four states last year because of overwhelming theft and crime at those locations.

"We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance," the company said in a September statement.

"We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all."

Target officials also said they were heavily investing in strategies to prevent and stop theft and organized retail crime, such as:

• Adding security
• Using third-party guard services
• Implementing theft-deterrent tools

According to the Bloomberg report, the new technology will alert shoppers through noise and visual cues when items aren't scanned.

Target and other major retailers leaned into self-checkout in recent years — only to scale back the option.

• RELATED: Walmart, Target, Dollar General Put Limits On Self-Checkout

Self-checkout is a popular option among U.S. consumers, according to a survey by NCR Voyix survey of 1,133 Americans. About 43 percent overall said they prefer to scan and bag their items themselves. The option is especially popular among consumers ages 18 to 44 who like the speed, shorter lines and privacy of a self-scan lane.

However, another survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers by LendingTree found 69 percent think they make it easier to steal, and 15 percent admitted they had stolen items using the system.

And even law-abiding customers can be tempted to cheat at self-checkout lanes, Christopher Andrews, an associated professor and chair of sociology at Drew University and author of “The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets and the Do-It-Yourself Economy,” told The Associated Press late last year.

Several retailers have signaled they plan to scale back self-checkout in response to theft.

Target placed a 10-item limit on the number of items customers can scan at its honor system self-checkout registers. Walmart also implemented self-scan item limits at some of its more than 10,500 stores nationwide. Additionally,

Dollar General placed limits at thousands of its stores, including 300 with the highest shoplifting rates, where the option has been entirely eliminated.