Current:Home > Contact-usNearly a third of Gen-Zers steal from self-checkout aisles, survey shows-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Nearly a third of Gen-Zers steal from self-checkout aisles, survey shows
View Date:2024-12-23 23:20:13
Roughly one in three young shoppers in the U.S. has admitted to giving themselves five-finger discounts at self-checkout counters, a new survey shows.
According to loan marketplace LendingTree, 31% of Gen-Z consumers have stolen items from self-checkout kiosks, compared to 15% of consumers of any age. Those figures come as businesses work to combat shoplifting, which some retailers have blamed for hurting their financial performance and even for store closures.
"Ultimately, retailers need to decide whether the self-checkout terminals are worth the risk," LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said in a statement. "That's a question lots of retailers are likely wrestling with."
LendingTree based its findings on a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 18 and 77.
Although some respondents to the poll said they regretted having sticky fingers, 44% planned to continue stealing from self-checkout kiosks, while 37% said they would do so to save money on groceries or health care goods, according to the survey. Of those who had stolen at kiosks, only a thir said they had ever been caught, the data shows.
Retailers are generally reluctant to disclose information on the prevalence of theft, making it hard to gauge how common self-checkout theft is compared to other forms of stealing, Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData Retail, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Theft data is "commercially sensitive information that [retailers are] under no obligation to reveal," he said. "There is a fear that highlighting the issue may encourage more self-checkout theft."
Still, losses resulting from the use of automated checkout stations appear to have spurred several major retailers to do away with the kiosks or beef up measures to detect thefts, according to Saunders.
Walmart removed self-checkout stations at some of its stores in New Mexico earlier this year after employees reported a rise in self-checkout thefts, Insider reported. Similarly, Wegmans scrapped its scan-as-you-shop self-checkout system last year because of excessive theft, Saunders said.
Meanwhile, Costco has said it plans to station more of its employees at self-checkout areas after acknowledging this year that it had suffered losses "in part…due to the rollout of self-checkout."
- In:
- Retail Theft
- Walmart
- Costco
Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News' BizTech Unit and worked on the Associated Press' web scraping team.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Stock market today: Asian shares meander, tracking Wall Street’s mixed finish as dollar surges
- Emma Stone Makes Rare, Heartfelt Comment About Husband Dave McCary at the 2024 Golden Globes
- Michael Penix's long and winding career will end with Washington in CFP championship game
- Oklahoma inmate back in custody after escaping from prison, officials say
- Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
- The pandemic sent hunger soaring in Brazil. They're fighting back with school lunches.
- Keep Your Desk Clean & Organized with These Must-Have Finds
- NFL playoff schedule: Dates, times, TV info from wild-card round to Super Bowl 58
- ‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
- New Jersey man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Pennsylvania cold case
Ranking
- Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse
- Thousands forced from homes by quake face stress and exhaustion as Japan mourns at least 161 deaths
- Atlanta Falcons fire coach Arthur Smith hours after season-ending loss to New Orleans Saints
- 2024 NFL draft order: Top 18 first-round selections secured after Week 18
- Mechanic dies after being 'trapped' under Amazon delivery van at Florida-based center
- Better than Brady? Jim Harbaugh's praise for JJ McCarthy might not be hyperbole
- Hundreds evacuate homes, 38 rescued from floods in southeast Australia after heavy storms
- Colman Domingo Reacts to Rumor He's Replacing Jonathan Majors as Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Recommendation
-
Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
-
‘Soldiers of Christ’ killing unsettles Korean Americans in Georgia and stokes fear of cults
-
Horoscopes Today, January 6, 2024
-
NFL schedule today: Everything to know about football games on Jan. 7
-
Volunteer firefighter accused of setting brush fire on Long Island
-
How to keep your pipes from freezing when temperatures dip below zero
-
North Korea’s Kim turns 40. But there are no public celebrations of his birthday
-
'Society of the Snow': How to watch Netflix's survival film about doomed Flight 571