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Several months ago, we wrote about an anti-shoplifting technology by Stoplift.  StopLift Checkout Vision Systems’ Scan-It-All™ video recognition technology has now detected a very impressive 500,000 scan avoidance incidences at both the manned and self-checkout.

Working with retailers on four continents, including Tesco in the UK, StopLift’s scan avoidance technology has just confirmed more than half a million incidents at thousands of checkouts in chains across the U.S. and around the world.

These incidents include “sweethearting”, when cashiers pretend to scan merchandise but deliberately bypass the scanner, thus not charging the customer for the merchandise.  The customer is often a friend, family member or fellow employee working in tandem with the cashier.

 They also include a 500% higher rate of scan avoidance in self-checkout.

 “Our technology has found that shoplifting is as much as five times more likely to happen in the self-checkout lane,” said Malay Kundu, Founder and CEO of StopLift.  “Some retailers are reexamining the ROI of self-checkouts.

 “Retailers always suspected that self-checkouts would be highly prone to scan-avoidance, and our technology has certainly found this to be the case,” he said.  “Furthermore, using the incidents detected from their own stores, retailers are now able to train staff on the signals indicating when customers are either having problems using the self-checkout or are exhibiting suspicious behavior.”

 StopLift’s Scan-It-All system finds any incidents of scan-avoidance, where merchandise is not scanned or rung up before being given to the customer.  This includes incidents which may be due to mistakes by the cashier or customer as well as items left in the shopping cart at both manned and self-checkout.

To watch real scan avoidance incidents – including self-checkout – tracked by StopLift, visit www.StopLift.com, where you will also see the ABC World News with Diane Sawyer story featuring StopLift and self-checkout theft.

As soon as a scan avoidance incident occurs, StopLift, which constantly monitors 100% of the security video, flags the transaction as suspicious.  It quickly reports the incident, identifying the cashier or customer and the date and time of the theft.

 Scan-It-All works with existing off-the-shelf overhead cameras.  No special camera equipment needs to be purchased or installed, and no changes have to be made to the checkout.

 StopLift’s patented computer vision technology visually determines what occurs during each and every transaction to immediately identify fraud at the checkout.  Dishonest associates are identified on the basis of video evidence the very first time they conduct a fraudulent transaction, rather than months or even years down the road, significantly reducing inventory shrinkage, deterring future theft, and boosting profitability.  Customers are identified at the self-checkout.

The technology eliminates costly, time-consuming human review of video, drastically reduces and deters fraud at the checkout, and significantly improves profitability, Kundu said.  Rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach, StopLift develops targeted applications to address the specific needs of retailers from different sectors including general merchandise, grocery, and specialty retail.