In a bid to clamp down on theft at checkout lanes, Walmart has deployed a Missed Scan Detection system which utilized artificial intelligence-powered cameras to check when an item has been moved past the scanner without being scanned first. Walmart has reportedly deployed this system at more than 1,000 stores across the United States over the past two years. Walmart didn’t say how much money it has saved as a result of having the Missed Scan Detection system in place.
The Missed Scan Detection system monitors both self-checkout kiosks as well as the conventional cash registers that are manned by Walmart employees. The system uses cameras which keep an eye on the items that move across the register. If it picks up on unusual activity, such as an item being dropped into a bag without being scanned first, it will notify a checkout attendant.
Walmart points out that in the two years that it has had this system up and running, the rates of inventory loss, theft, fraud, and scanning errors has come down.
The retailer didn’t say how big of a difference this has made in precise figures but given that theft and losses have been a $47 billion problem for U.S. retailers in 2017, one can imagine that it has proven to be quite useful for Walmart.
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