you’ve got to pick a pocket or two…
I’ve oft mentioned my love of the supermarket and my daily trips down the aisles. T’other day I engaged my garrulous checkout lady in a conversation which touched upon shoplifting and I have to admit that the level of ‘shrinkage’ she mentioned almost left me speechless. Furthermore, she believed it wasn’t just the thrill-seeking Anthony Worrall Thompson’s with a ‘poacher’s pocket’ knocking-off the occasional lobster thermidor, it was a significant proportion of their customers who appeared to participate “big time” in the activity. As proof, the Centre for Retail Research highlights the fact that a staggering £5.5bn is lost every year to shoplifting and employee theft. And retailers now intend to get even.
A new generation of supermarket is being trialled, in which our every move is tracked and artificial intelligence figures out what we’ve bought and bills us as we leave. Retailers worldwide are racing to deploy this ‘smart’ technology. First, you download the relevant app and register a credit card against the KYC (Know Your Customer) data. Scanning a QR code gets you into the store via train station style barriers and once inside, a network of scanners and cameras follow you around and records every item you pick-up and pop in your basket. When you’re done, you merely leave and a few minutes later your phone bleeps to let you know how much hard-earned has been just debited from your account. Job done. No checkout. No queue. No contact. No hassle. No shoplifting. No staff.
Twenty years ago supermarkets believed they had found a solution to the queue frustration some customers felt with the introduction of now ubiquitous self-scanning machines. However, these machines lead to an increase in shoplifting as it became relatively easy for light-fingered Fagins to zip a few items through without scanning the necessary barcode. The University of Leicester found that theft from self-checkout machines was almost as high as 150% and, needless to say, supermarkets have since rolled back and cut down on their number. However, shop theft really took off in 2014 after the law was changed to define ‘low-value shoplifting’ as a summary offence, which in turn allowed police forces a level of discretion in investigating thefts of less than two-hundred quid. Tea-leaves can still be arrested, charged and prosecuted but are not required to attend court in person.
Fitting out supermarkets with this new-fangled tech costs in the region of £1m per store but figures indicate the resultant savings, in both labour costs and theft, mean it’ll pay for itself within a surprising eighteen months. This touches on the fact that the biggest losers are likely to be Britain’s army of 270,000 checkout staff. Supermarkets have provided stable, reliable, long-term employ to generations and its impact on communities and their economies should not be underestimated. The ONS has identified these workers are at a 65% peril of being replaced by checkout automation. Real people, with real lives.
For me, my local supermarket is more than merely somewhere to buy tonight’s tea, it’s a space for mixing and mingling with my fellow human beings. It’s a great social leveller as I can stand shoulder to shoulder with a Bitcoin millionaire, a single-mother on universal credit and an ol’ boy reminiscing about his wartime experiences. Smart stores are supposedly positioned at time-strapped millennial parents who don’t want to queue and gen Z’ers who don’t want to interact, but I genuinely believe we’ll be less of a society for losing everything these social melting pots have provided to us all, over so many years. Kerching.
PS Also, btw, resign you charlatan. And the permanent US resident at #11 should follow suit.
