In a pilot project, Walmart provided its employees at select stores with body cameras to wear on the job.
According to CNBC, which first reported the news, some Walmart stores have signs at entry points warning shoppers that they have “body cameras in use.”
The measure was designed to improve worker safety and the retailer hopes to increase it, CNBC reported. Stores where employees wear the cameras have signs indicating that body cameras are being used.
CNBC also reports that at least one employee working at a Walmart store in Denton, Texas (Dallas metropolitan area) has been seen using one of the cameras.
Additionally, a company document instructs employees to “log an incident if a customer interaction escalates” and to avoid using the devices in employee-only areas, such as the break room and bathrooms. After incidents recorded by the device, employees must log them in a compliance and ethics app with the help of a coworker.
About the initiative
A Walmart spokesperson acknowledged the pilot project to CNBC without discussing any specific details of the technology.
“We are always looking for new and innovative technologies to be used in the retail sector,” the spokesperson told CNBC. “This is a pilot we are conducting in one market and we will evaluate the results before making any long-term decisions.”
Off-price retailer The TJX Companies announced in a June 2024 earnings report that employees at select locations of its TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods brands were also wearing body cameras in an initiative to reduce in-store theft that first launched in late 2023.
Other retailers decided to take the more drastic step of closing stores that see high levels of theft and organized crime. For example, in October 2023, Target closed nine stores in New York City, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle that it said presented “fundamental challenges” to safe and successful operation due to high levels of criminal activity.
Theft is a major issue for retailers’ efforts to create a comfortable in-store environment for both employees and customers. A recent Motorola survey of U.S. retail workers shows that 57% of respondents feel unsafe ahead of the peak holiday shopping season and 20% think body cameras would make them feel safer.
However, only 6% of respondents said they have access to body cameras at work.
As for customers, a recent Zebra consumer survey reveals that 71% of respondents are concerned that the stores they shop at are experiencing high levels of theft and crime, while 78% are annoyed when the products they want to buy are locked away to prevent theft.
