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The Street
The Street
Jena Warburton

New anti-theft tech may be most drastic yet (and coming to stores soon)

With earnings season officially underway ahead of the holiday season, the time has come for retailers to be up front with all of us about the theft situation. 

And, if you're like many big box stores, it's looking like the ongoing inventory shrink issue remains a central one, directly at odds with the bottom line. 

Related: Target reveals shocking results from anti-theft measures

Retail theft has been on the rise for over a year now, and few parts of the country are safe. 

Here's a breakdown of the key areas that have been hit hardest from from midyear 2019 to midyear 2023:

Largest increases in shoplifting by city:

  • New York: increase in incidents by 64%
  • Los Angeles: increase in incidents by 61%
  • Virginia Beach, Va.: increase in incidents by 44%
  • Dallas: increase in incidents by 20%

Inventory shrink doesn't just threaten a company's profits. It also damages employee morale and erodes customer trust. The amount of shoplifting incidents that either turned violent or involved some type of assault increased 9% between 2019 to 2021.  

Some retailers have gotten crafty in an effort to tackle the issue. Walgreens (WBA) -), for example, has started chaining up some of their most-stolen goods, like pizza and ice cream, in cities in San Francisco. It's become commonplace to visit some urban drugstores and see photos in place of actual inventory, forcing customers to seek assistance for some of their most basic needs. 

But locking inventory up has its benefits. Target (TGT) -) CEO Brian Cornell claimed customers actually started thanking the retailer for resulting to drastic measures. 

“And actually what we hear from the guests is a big thank you, because we are in stock with the brands that they need when they’re shopping in our stores. And because we’ve invested in team member labor in those aisles and make sure we’re there to greet that guest, open up those cases and provide them the items they’re looking for," he said on Target's Q3 earnings call Thursday.

Some retailers, however, are prepared to go even farther.

A convenience store in New York City has installed locked cases to cover candy that is frequently stolen. (Photo by: Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

UCG/Getty Images

Big retail stores might resort to anti-theft machines

A new innovation dubbed anti-theft vending machines might be coming to a store near you, if it's struggling with retail crime. 

Digital Media Vending International (DMVI), a Bay Area-based startup tech company that helps retailers keep their goods secure until time of purchase, has been shopping its product around — and causing quite a media buzz. 

The trademark machines, or, as they're being referred to, "self-service shelves," feature robotic arms, similar to one you might see at a circus, that fetch goods from a secure case only once a customer has made a purchase. Customers can also prepay for goods online and bring their receipts in to pick up their items. 

If this all sounds a little draconian or over the top, there's a chance you've already seen a machine like this, perhaps manufactured by DMVI itself. Many are placed throughout airports and hotels selling common convenience wares like vitamins, OTC pain killers, gym, or deodorant. 

The company is now testing these machines on a much larger scale that might someday be used in a large retail space and house hundreds, if not thousands, of items. 

The machines are intended to solve two problems at once: stopping theft and servicing honest, paying customers far faster than an already-busy cashier could (within about 15 seconds after paying). 

Some of the machines being tested are 26.5 feet wide for large retailers, with bullet proof glass to avoid so-called smash and grabs.

When founder David Ashforth was asked what method his machines are sending to thieves, his message was simple. 

"It's over," he said.

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