If you had the opportunity, would you steal from another human being? What if that human being were replaced with a robot? Over the last decade, retailers across the United States have added thousands of self-checkout machines in an effort to save on labor costs. These new automated systems, however, come with new and sometimes costly challenges. One of the biggest problems retailers face with these machines is theft. With customers using hacks like “the banana trick” to save on items, stores are losing money.
The Banana Trick
Voucher Codes Pro, a company that offers coupons to internet shoppers, surveyed 2 634 people. Nearly twenty percent of them admitted to stealing from an automated checkout at some point in the past. More than half of them said it was because they knew it was unlikely they’d get caught. There are a few different tricks that shoppers are using to trick the system:
1. The Banana Trick
Ringing up a more expensive item with the code for a cheap variety of produce. For example, using the code for a banana to “pay” for an expensive t-bone steak.
2. The Pass Around
This is when you put something in your bag without scanning it.
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