- One study found that people with incomes over $100,000 were most likely to admit to stealing from a self-checkout.
- Shrinkage at stores that have introduced self-checkout is a big problem.
- A compulsive shopping expert looks at why rich people are so tempted to steal.
Theft, or “shrinking” as the retail industry calls it, is a major problem for stores that use self-checkout kiosks.
Machines have created a new kind of “fractional reduction” in which someone pays for most of their items but skips some items.
One study found that approximately 6.7% of orders had items that were not scanned (including by chance). This is much higher than the typical shrinkage rate of 0.3% for fully staffed checkouts.
It may come as no surprise that in a survey of 5,000 shoppers, the majority admitted to accidentally bagging items that weren't scanned at the kiosk. (I've accidentally done this before, especially when I was in a hurry.)
But what did the survey reveal? Wealthy people were the most likely to do so. Intentionally They were stealing, they told investigators.
Among those who admitted theft, 18% had household incomes of $100,000 or more.
(Taking into account people with household incomes under $35,000, a LendingTree survey of 2,000 adults in the fall found that 14% said they had intentionally removed an item without scanning it.)
To find out why wealthy people are so tempted by self-checkout, I spoke with Terrence Shulman, author, therapist, and attorney at the Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending, and Hoarding.
Here are some of the things we talked about.
Q: I am aware that shoplifting is not only done out of necessity, but wealthy people may steal for other psychological reasons. It can be thrill-seeking or compulsive.
I'm interested in how this will affect self-checkout, where it's very easy to get away with it.
a:I'd like to admit that I don't know what the truth is, but I'll give you some theories as I think of them.
I think many high-income, wealthy people probably don't. very It's equally nice to have all the self-service features, like checkout and having to fill up your own gas.
I mean, it took me a while to get used to this. I'm generalizing, but maybe for wealthy people it's just another hassle, or it's kind of a hassle for them. So that's one possibility. It's like a silent protest. like, why do i have to do this?
Another idea is that scanning a $10 item to a wealthy person is like a penny to them. So we already think about money differently.
Your subconscious mind may have thoughts such as: Hey, even if I get caught, even if I get in trouble, I have resources. You can hire a lawyer or call someone. I know how to make something happen.
Q: Do the customers you work with who have shoplifting problems see self-checkout as some kind of trigger or temptation?
a: yes. So what's going on, some people might say, is this? I don't use self-scan because I don't have confidence in myself.
They may also think: I don't believe in machines.
Correction: December 29, 2023 — An earlier version of this article misspelled Terrence Shulman's last name.
