Target adding cameras to self-checkout registers: reports

(NEXSTAR) – Target plans to take a closer look at customers using self-checkout. According to multiple reports, the mega-retailer is adding cameras to self-checkout lanes in a move to prevent theft.

The technology, called TruScan, can recognize when items are not scanned, reports CNN. The technology will alert shoppers when items were not scanned, according to company documents obtained by Bloomberg.

TruScan cameras can also track people who repeatedly don’t ring up items or don’t scan them correctly, Bloomberg reported.

Target did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.

Cameras aren’t the only change the company has been making to its self-checkout lanes. Last month the retailer began limiting how many items people could purchase in self-checkout at 2,000 stores around the country. The 10-item limit was implemented to speed up checkout at those stations, the company said.

In recent years, Target and other major retailers have been implementing more measures to prevent theft, such as putting more items in locked cabinets. Shoppers at some locations need to ask an employee’s assistance to retrieve everyday items – like deodorant, laundry detergent and other personal hygiene products – from behind a locked door.

But even with the growing concerns over theft, it’s not clear how much the problem is actually growing, the Associated Press reports. The National Retail Federation, a trade group that represents retailers, said its 2022 survey found retailers experienced 1.6% in “shrink” – or inventory loss – that year. That was an increase from 1.4% the year prior.

Discount chain 99 Cents Only announced last week it would be closing all 371 locations, citing theft as a contributing factor.

The latest anti-theft measure – cameras at self-checkout – will be rolled out to stores by the end of the year, according to USA Today.

Nexstar’s Addy Bink contributed to this report.