Nearly Half of Self-Checkout Thieves Are Repeat Offenders

The promise of frictionless retail through self-checkout once faltered, but a new wave of smart, unattended solutions is now poised to redefine consumer commerce and address long-standing industry challenges, according to a recent PYMNTS report.

Initial self-checkout systems, envisioned as a seamless alternative, became a “cautionary tale,” creating a “widening rift between efficiency and security.” This led to persistent labor shortages, inventory losses — “shrinkage” — and friction-filled security measures that jeopardized retail performance.

The retail sector endures the highest voluntary turnover rate in the U.S. at 25%, with nearly half of retailers reporting labor shortages that strain staff and contribute to security incidents. Consequently, major retailers like Target and Dollar General have curtailed self-checkout, and 43% of U.S. consumers now support their removal. Even defensive anti-theft measures, such as locked merchandise cases, often backfire, eroding sales and customer retention by frustrating shoppers.

However, the report clarifies that the failure of these first-wave solutions does not signify the failure of unattended retail itself. Today’s smart self-service solutions are “refashioning retail economics” by integrating technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and weighted shelf sensors.

These next-generation systems transform shrink-prone items into revenue drivers, replacing labor-intensive oversight with real-time operational intelligence. Integrating security, analytics and frictionless payment systems, they deliver measurable performance improvements in transaction values, operating costs and inventory control.

Cantaloupe’s Smart Stores, for instance, use weighted-shelf technology and tracking cameras with 99% accuracy, allowing retailers to reallocate scarce labor to higher-value customer interactions while providing frictionless access to high-theft products, eliminating locked cases. Real-time operational data via IoT offers visibility into inventory, pricing elasticity and purchasing trends, optimizing pricing and minimizing stockouts. Early adopters report an average 30% increase in sales.

The report highlights critical statistics underpinning these trends:

Fifteen percent of self-checkout users intentionally steal items, with 44% of this group admitting they are likely to repeat the theft, indicating a vulnerability for retailers.

The retail industry faces workforce pressures, enduring the highest voluntary turnover rate in the United States at 25%.

Next-generation smart self-service solutions demonstrate considerable upside, with early adopters reporting an average 30% increase in sales. A notable example includes a college campus that saw a more than 250% weekly increase in sales after replacing vending machines with Smart Stores.

Beyond operational fixes, the report explores how next-gen self-service commerce is “redrawing the boundaries of conventional retail.” These technologies embed commerce directly within consumer environments, capturing spontaneous demand without dedicated store visits. This also transforms expansion economics, as smart self-service units require minimal footprint, allowing deployment in previously unviable locations like senior living facilities. For large retailers, these solutions act as a “force multiplier,” extending brand reach and optimizing product placement.

The report emphasizes the significant return on investment (ROI) these solutions deliver, citing examples such as a car dealership where transaction values climbed 154% and shrinkage fell to zero.

PYMNTS Intelligence offers a roadmap for businesses, advising baseline metric establishment, strategic deployment in high-shrink/staffing challenge areas, integration of operational data systems, and expansion into nontraditional environments to unlock “boundaryless growth.”