A LAWYER has stated that shoppers opting for a curveball move at self-checkout checkouts are likely to make the best decision.
Self-checkout machines reportedly broke the law with some innocent customers.
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Self-scanning technology has boomed to improve customer experience and shopping efficiency.
In recent years, however, there have been increasing reports of incidents related to self-checkout checkouts.
Lawyers and experts are now advising clients on how to stay out of the law after some innocent clients have been accused of theft.
Law firm M. Neufeld Law, based in Conroe, Texas, published a blog post stating that shoppers who take the longer way out of the store are making the right decision.
To prevent them from breaking the law, “some [shoppers] choose even much longer lines to avoid self-checkout,” the post read.
It continued: “They may be on to something!
“Recently, Montgomery County has seen more arrests for theft as a result of the self-checkout lane.”
In Texas, shoplifters can be charged with anything from a class C misdemeanor to a first-degree felony.
In 2021, an Alabama woman was awarded $2.1 million in damages after Walmart falsely accused her of shoplifting and was subsequently arrested.
Her case was later dismissed by a Mobile County jury after she explained that the self-checkout device jammed while she was using it, so she thought she had paid for the groceries.
Late last year, it was reported that shoplifting had become a $94.5 billion problem for US retailers, according to a National Retail Security Survey.
It is estimated that Walmart loses as much as $3 billion a year due to theft, according to Reuters.
Major retailers such as Walmart and The Home Depot said there was an increasing “epidemic” of shoplifting.
Meanwhile, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said theft is “higher than what it has been in the past.”
In December, former Chrysler chairman and CEO and The Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli said, “Today this thing is an epidemic. It is spreading faster than COVID.”
As a result, retailers are beginning to crack down on shoplifting and take stricter anti-theft measures.
This includes installing more high-tech self-checkout kiosks and installing AI cameras.
In the meantime, store associates at self-checkouts have been advised to watch for suspicious activity and shoppers have been told to avoid common self-checkout mistakes.
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