EDEKA Jaeger Introduces AI-powered Age Verification at Self-Service Checkouts

Smart Vision technology-based solution from Diebold Nixdorf automates age-restricted sales in the 24/7 store at Stuttgart Airport

STUTTGART, Germany and NORTH CANTON, Ohio, April 30, 2024 -- EDEKA Jaeger, part of the EDEKA Group, which is one of the leading German supermarket organizations, is now offering customers in the 24/7 store at Stuttgart Airport the opportunity to authorize the purchase of age-restricted goods like alcoholic beverages at the self-service checkout using automatic age recognition. The AI-based solution Vynamic® Smart Vision I Age Verification from Diebold Nixdorf, a world leader in transforming the way people shop, complements the previously required approval by store attendants. This considerably speeds up transactions at the self-service checkouts and gives employees more time for customer service and other responsibilities.

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Theft & Customer Friction Have Retailers Backing Away from Self-Checkout
WSJ: Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts to Curb Irritation—and Theft

Problems with technology are prompting companies including Target and Walmart to change operations or ditch the stations

Attention, shoppers: Retailers are rethinking your cashier job. Store operators are modifying how they use self-checkout stations in a bid to boost their bottom lines and improve the shopping experience for customers.

Some retailers are pulling kiosks out of stores as a way to keep a lid on theft. Others, including Target, Dollar General and the regional grocery chain Schnucks, have limited how many items customers can bring to self-checkouts to avoid bottlenecks and alleviate headaches for staff.

In March, Five Below Chief Executive Officer Joel Anderson said the retail chain limited the number of open self-checkout registers and positioned employees at more checkout lanes to assist customers. Walmart pulled self-checkout lanes from a handful of stores in recent months based on feedback from associates and customers, a spokesman said.

Self-checkout use accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when human-to-human contact lessened. But self-checkouts have contributed to increased “shrink”—an industry term used to describe losses from theft, lost inventory or damaged goods—because shoppers make mistakes or steal. Retailers, hesitant to spend more on staffing, are deciding if they prefer to reduce labor costs or combat shrink.

About a fifth of people who used self-checkouts said they accidentally took an item without paying for it, according to a survey of 2,000 shoppers last year by LendingTree. Some 15% of self-checkout users admitted to stealing an item on purpose.

“Shoplifting used to be mostly invisible,” said David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation, a trade group. “What we are seeing today are methods that are open and brazen.”  wsj.com


California Law Forcing Stores to Shut Down Self-Checkout?
Proposed California law could force some stores to do away with self-checkout
A proposed state law could change regulations on self-checkout, forcing some California stores to do away with the service altogether.

"The hope is that we can reduce the amount of theft that happens. That's a much better solution than punishing theft after it occurs," said Cristine Soto DeBerry, founder and executive director of Prosecutors Alliance of California.

Senate Bill 1446 would regulate self-checkouts in hopes of boosting employment and cutting down on thefts. If voted into law, grocery and pharmacy retailers would have to meet certain requirements or get rid self-check outs, including upping the number of employees monitoring the stations.

"One of the main deterrents from theft is that there are staff paying attention in the store to your activities," said Soto DeBerry.

The California Chamber of Commerce is coming out against the proposed legislation, in part, over concerns it could hurt business. The bottom line is also a concern among some shoppers.

"Are we as a consumer going to have to pay for that to take it down and redo it or whatever is decided, you know? The cost shouldn't be on us. It should be them as a corporation," said Maryellen Mascitti, a San Francisco resident.

"I understand the concern for theft," said San Francisco resident Steven Brummond. "I'd be concerned, though, that if grocery stores were required to staff more checkout aisles, that that would be a huge cost increase for them and they'd pass that cost on to customers."  abc7news.com


Retailers Pour Millions Into Effort to Roll Back Prop 47
California retail theft captured the Capitol’s attention. How major stores have lobbied for it
National big box chains and the trade groups that represent them have dramatically increased spending on lobbying this year — and it appears as though it’s paying off. Since the beginning of the year, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, have both proposed multi-bill packages to address shoplifting and organized retail theft.

The Retailers Association paid significantly more for lobbying year-over-year, spending about $70,391 during the first quarter of 2023 and about $577,682 during the first quarter of 2024, according to Secretary of State’s Office lobbying disclosures.

Michelin in her Press Club comments attributed the legislative changes to Rivas’ committee. But her own organization — as well as Target, Home Depot and other store chains — have been lobbying lawmakers and the governor at least since the time the speaker created it. Retailers support bills making it easier for prosecutors to go after repeat thieves and those who take items from stores to resell them online, among other pieces of legislation.

While chains and trade groups are lobbying lawmakers, some of the same retailers have donated millions of dollars to back a ballot measure rolling back portions of Proposition 47. The voter-approved initiative made certain lower-level crimes — including shoplifting property under $950 — misdemeanors.

Newsom, Rivas and McGuire have all said they are against changing Proposition 47. Walmart had contributed $2.5 million to the initiative campaign, and Home Depot and Target had each contributed $1 million as of Friday, according to campaign finance filings from the Secretary of State’s Office. Californians for Safer Communities last month announced it had collected more than 900,000 signatures to put the measure on the November ballot. sacbee.com


Kroger is 'Fed Up with Thieves'
Grocery store theft increasing in Tennessee

"There are a lot of enterprising thieves out there who are doing a booming business of stealing product and selling it at a discount."

Retail theft is on the rise in Tennessee. That's the word from Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association President and CEO Rob Ikard. Although stealing is a crime in Tennessee, a shoplifter has to swipe at least $1,000 worth of items to be charged with a felony.

Ikard said people don't just steal food to serve at a restaurant, often times they take items off the grocery shelves and sell them online later on.

"There are a lot of enterprising thieves out there who are doing a booming business of stealing product and selling it at a discount," Ikard said. "And we know that the retail industry and the grocery industry in particular are laser-focused on stopping this trend. We are watching very carefully. And we're going to make sure that we prosecute every violation to the max."

Kroger spokeswoman Lauren Bell said that the grocer is fed up with thieves in a statement below:

"At Kroger, we are truly disappointed by the rising crime rates affecting retail establishments and the negative consequences they have on our valued customers. Ensuring their safety is our utmost concern, which is why we are dedicated to collaborating closely with local law enforcement to tackle this issue head-on. We have already implemented various security measures to deter crime and effectively handle any potential incidents. However, we are fully committed to exploring and implementing further solutions to enhance the security within our stores."

"I think that for retailers and grocers, it's important to greet your customers and watch them and be helpful to them and communicate with them while they're in the store," Ikard said. "That way they know that you're there to help. They also know that you're paying attention and you're not going to let them get away with robbing them blind." wbir.com


Reflecting on the Allen Mall Shooting One Year Later
Active shooter response training is key

Their training changed the course of the Allen mall shooting. Then the attack changed them

A year after confronting a mass shooting in their city, three first responders reflect on how tragedy taught them to lean on their training and then on each other.

Daniel Williams, an Allen Fire division chief, said training reduces an active shooter response into three goals: Stop the killing, stop the dying and evacuate rapidly. Chance allowed for swift completion of the first goal, and with first responders arriving in droves from Graham’s funeral, they tended to the wounded just as fast.

Gunshots at the outlet mall didn’t immediately raise alarm; similar reports had been made in the high-traffic area before. Wirstrom explained “shots fired” calls have different magnitude scales, comparable to how tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes are ranked, but overlapping voices coming through his radio caused information to splinter. He didn’t know what to believe.

Then there was a shift. The cadence and pitch of the officer tracking down the gunman changed from elevated to quiet, Wirstrom said. That officer, alone and breathless, was running toward bursts of rapid shots, body-worn camera footage released by Allen police nearly two months after the massacre showed.

The officer first classified the gunfire as a mass shooting as he walked by the mall’s H&M. The footage blurred multiple bodies on the ground outside the store.

“The number of people that were laying on the ground bleeding was the principal indicator that something horrible had happened here,” Wirstrom said. dallasnews.com


Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s newest task force arrests retail theft suspects

Is NYPD too political? Cops drive Gaza protest narrative with Columbia raid
 

All Sam's Club Store Exits Will Soon Be Managed By AI
'Largest-scale implementation of member-facing AI-powered tech in the retail industry'

AI will manage all Sam’s Club exit checks by end of 2024 in effort to slash bottlenecks at the door
Any Sam’s Club member is familiar with the lines that can form at the exits of the big box store during busy shopping times as customers line up for an associate to check their receipts to confirm their purchases.

Now, the company says those bottlenecks will be slashed at its clubs nationwide by the end of the year, thanks to new artificial intelligence-powered technology.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the Walmart division unveiled a new AI-powered scanning system positioned at store exits that captures images of carts and verifies payment for all items within a member’s basket.

Since then, Sam’s announced this week, the new tech has been rolled out at 20% of its stores, and will be in each of the company’s 600 locations by the close of 2024. The company says that in the 120 stores where the AI scanners have been deployed so far, more than half of customers have ushered through them, reducing wait times for all members by 23%.

Sam’s Club took a victory lap in its announcement, saying that the rapid deployment of its new AI exit technology, which was developed in-house, represents the largest-scale implementation of member-facing AI-powered technology in the retail industry. nypost.com


Dollar Tree Distribution Center Flattened by Tornado
Tornado destroys Dollar Tree Oklahoma distribution center

None of the warehouse’s 456 associates were harmed during the disaster and are being given resources to help with temporary work relocation.

Dollar Tree’s 1 million-square-foot distribution center in Marietta, Oklahoma, was destroyed after a series of tornadoes ripped through the state on April 27, according to a press release.

Twenty-two tornadoes swept through several towns in western and central Oklahoma on April 27, tragically killing at least four people and leveling multiple neighborhoods, according to reports from The Washington Post.

The company confirmed that none of the distribution center’s 456 associates were injured, and will help with temporary work relocation, well-being resources and access to Dollar Tree’s Associate Relief Fund, according to the release. Dollar Tree is also partnering with the Red Cross to provide immediate assistance.

The retailer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on where employees will be relocated to or how operations from the center will be shifted throughout its network.

To maintain distribution operations following the storm, the retailer “pivoted its network to deliver product to the approximately 600 Marietta-serviced Dollar Tree stores,” the company stated. retaildive.com


Sam Ash closing all stores
The family-operated, 100-year-old music instruments retailer announced that, with a heavy heart,” it was closing all 42 stores nationwide.

Kohl’s launches same-day delivery with Instacart

Kroger to renovate stores in Greater Cincinnati area — here are the locations
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director, Asset Protection job posted for Crate & Barrel in Northbrook, IL
This role is the “protector in chief” of the Company’s assets, ensuring the security of our people, our locations and our physical assets; partnering cross-functionally to ensure proper development and implementation of inventory control and loss prevention programs; and providing for sound emergency response and business continuity plans, in partnership with key leaders and operations team members. jobs.crateandbarrel.com


Multi-Asset Protection Manager job posted for The Home Depot in St. Louis, MO
The Multi-Store Asset Protection Manager (MAPM) is responsible for teaching, coaching, and training associates to ensure the effective execution of core Asset Protection initiatives. They are responsible for driving core programs and strategies relating to theft and fraud mitigation, operational excellence, safety, and environmental compliance in The Home Depot stores without adding complexity or tasking to the stores’ operation. careers.homedepot.com