German retailers battle rising theft in self-service checkout era
In Germany, the number of thefts associated with the increasing use of self-service checkouts is rising. "In shops that install them, there are more and more thefts," reports "Deutsche Welle". Germans, however, are forced to install such devices due to a lack of workers.
Recently, more and more German shops have installed self-service checkouts. This saves on staff, but it also encourages theft. The "Deutsche Welle" service has noticed the problem.
According to them, retailers in Germany's losses, as a result, may amount to one to two per cent of turnover. "This is a lot and significantly more than in shops with traditional checkouts," assesses Stephan Rüschen, a professor of food retailing at the University of Applied Sciences in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, quoted by the service.
Germany tries to overcome economic problems
In Stephan Rüschen's opinion, the main reason for the thefts is not the increase in self-service checkouts but primarily the increase in inflation and the decline in purchasing power.
Recently, Germany has been continually trying to overcome economic problems. The country's economic growth is limited by weak external demand, cautious consumers, and relatively high interest rates.
Additionally, reduced state support and the decline in purchasing power due to inflation and high interest rates are putting more and more German households in a difficult situation.
Shops are taking more and more preventive measures
The increased risk of theft means that German shops are also taking increasingly preventive measures. Examples of such actions are, among others, the presence of staff in the self-service checkout area and the installation of exit gates that only open after scanning the receipt.
In turn, video cameras can detect situations in which customers did not scan products or provided incorrect information while weighing and selecting vegetables and fruits.
Germany lacks workers
Meanwhile, Stephan Rüschen believes that despite the higher risk of theft, retailers will increasingly rely on self-service checkouts in the future. Why?
"There is a shortage of workers everywhere in the retail sector. Moreover, customers appreciate and expect this service because they don't want to stand in long queues," he emphasises.
According to data from the German Economic Institute, Germany currently lacks approximately 573,000 skilled workers. If the German economy had a sufficient number of workers, economic growth in this country could be over one per cent higher this year.
