SHOPPERS are set to see the end of locked cabinets as a new company tackles theft and customer frustrations.
The head of a company based in the San Francisco Bay Area has warned thieves “it’s over” as stores trial his innovative prototype.
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Not only will it be “over” for shoplifters, but shoppers will no longer have to wait up to 40 minutes for assistance to access locked-up goods or be accused of theft at self-checkouts.
Inside Edition sent reporters to Target, Walmart, and CVS stores across New York and New Jersey, to test waiting times.
Walmart is the worst for long waiting times to get help for items under lock and key, per the report.
The reporters were forced to wait a total of 40 minutes just for three items.
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Meanwhile, an Insider report claimed that Walmart’s hopes to crack down on theft at self-checkouts had actually increased volatile incidents between workers and shoppers, per The Post.
Shoppers in the Bay Area have had enough.
“You have to ask for someone to open the case just for toothpaste, I said ‘You’re kidding me,'” one shopper told NBC Bay Area.
“To see padlocks and chains and rudimentary security measures, that really has to be an indicator that something is wrong here,” David Johnston, loss prevention expert for the National Retail Federation said.
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“Retailers don’t want to lock up their merchandise, they know it is an inconvenience for shoppers.”
David Ashforth who runs vending machine company Digital Media Vending International said “the lightbulb went off” when he had to wait in a store for an employee to unlock a cabinet.
“I thought huh my machine could fit right here and I wouldn’t have to find a manager with a key anymore.”
As a result, he set to work on creating a huge vending machine for retailers to replace their shelving that locks up produce.
In theory, it would be a 26.5-foot wide vending machine for a whole aisle which is team has called the “Automated Retailer.”
Honest shoppers would pay in advance online or at an in-store kiosk for the desired product.
They would then be given a receipt or pick-up code to be entered into the machine which would retrieve the ordered item and deliver it to the shopper.
“It’s over,” Ashforth told thieves as he noted the huge interest from major retailers with some even being curious about getting smash and bullet-proof glass.
While the machines will cost retailers tens of thousands of dollars each, many have admitted to increasing their budgets to tackle theft.
Plus losses from retailers grew by a huge amount in just one year meaning that the vending machines could be a worthwhile investment.
In 2021 losses cost $94 billion but this jumper to $112 billion in 2022, according to National Retail Federation data.
Over half of 177 retailers questioned by the National Retail Federation said they are boosting security budgets to prevent such losses.
“Retailers are asking for the help they are looking for new and innovative ideas and they’re looking at technology to help prevent theft,” Johnston said.
Meanwhile, Ashforth attempted to quash concerns of a fully self-service store by noting that 10% of all store items make up 80% of what is stolen by thieves.
“In a big retail store, you maybe have 50 aisles. Maybe between one and five of those will be automated,” he said.
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One prototype is already being shipped to a major retailer for trial as stores buy into the vending machine solution.
“This technology is coming to stores near you,” said Ashforth.
